


we've been making shades of purple out of red and blue

by darklady21



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Roommates/Housemates, F/F, Fluff and Humor, Humor, and they were ROOMMATES, oh my god they were roommates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-17
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2019-10-11 15:13:02
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 24,283
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17449385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darklady21/pseuds/darklady21
Summary: Maybe it wasn’t the ideal situation, but Adora was okay with it.Most people had trouble with their roommates – she knew people whose roommates were too messy, too inconsiderate, or just decided to sing karaoke at three in the morning in Mermista’s case. She claimed to, unfortunately, still love Sea Hawk anyway.But see, Adora couldn’t complain about any of those things, actually, she couldn’t complain about anything at all, mostly because she hardly interacted with her roommate.orAdora is a disaster lesbian.





	1. and they were roommates

Maybe it wasn’t the ideal situation, but Adora was okay with it.

Most people had trouble with their roommates – she knew people whose roommates were too messy, too inconsiderate, or just decided to sing karaoke at three in the morning in Mermista’s case. She claimed to, unfortunately, still love Sea Hawk anyway.

But see, Adora couldn’t complain about any of those things, actually, she couldn’t complain about _anything_ at all, mostly because she hardly interacted with her roommate. She barely saw the girl, and the only true indication that someone besides her even lived in the apartment was the occupied room next to hers, which had its door almost always shut.

All she knew about her roommate was her name, which she wasn’t even sure she remembered correctly. Well, that and the fact she was cute. _Very_ cute. Catra - God, she hopes that’s right - was a young woman about her age, with tanned skin, different colored eyes, one golden and the other blue, and a seemingly perpetual smirk on her face. Well, at least it was present every time Adora managed to sneak a glance at her when she’d leave during odd times of the day.

That was another thing Adora couldn’t figure out. She didn’t know if Catra went to college, worked or if she even did either of those things. She didn’t follow a schedule – she’d apparently come and go as she pleased, sometimes only returning in the middle of the night just to stay in her room for the rest of the day. Somehow, she still managed to pay rent on time.

But yeah, Adora couldn’t complain. As a broke college student who would never be able to afford an apartment so close to campus by herself, she should actually be thankful.

She had a roommate, and a really good one at that. Sure, they weren’t close, they didn’t hang out and stay up late talking like Adora thought they would, but Catra was alright. She wasn’t messy, she gave Adora her space, and she was pretty sure they had never received noise complaints because Catra woke up the whole building singing “My Heart Will Go On”. Again, Mermista said she still loved Sea Hawk.

So, perhaps it wasn’t the ideal situation, but it was a decent one.

And Adora was fine with it.

Totally fine.

 

* * *

 

“I’m not fine with it, Glimmer!”

Right now she was sitting at a coffee shop with her two best friends, Glimmer, who was drinking a smoothie, and Bow, who opted for a simple herbal tea. They had been listening to Adora ramble about her roommate for the past thirty minutes, all the while claiming the whole situation absolutely did _not_ bother her. Not even a little bit. Growing tired of it, Glimmer had said “Well, if you’re fine with it then just let it go”, which led to Adora’s outburst.

Some people in the shop were now staring at them, and Adora could feel her cheeks warm. She cleared her throat before continuing. “I mean, I just don’t get it. Does she doesn’t like me or something?”

Bow offered her a sympathetic smile. “I’m sure that’s not it. She was never mean to you.”

“Yeah, she probably just doesn’t care about y-“ Bow elbowed Glimmer, ignoring her “hey!” and talking before she could finish her sentence. “What Glimmer meant-“ at that, he received a glare “-is that this Catra girl seems to be neutral towards you right now. But that’s good! It means you can win her over and make her see you in a positive way.”

“How on Earth will I do that?”

Glimmer sighed. “Look Adora, just talk to her, that’s already a nice start. You won’t get anywhere by pretending the other doesn’t exist.”

Bow sipped his drink before nodding his head and adding “She’s right. Maybe she’s just shy or thinks you prefer being alone. Try finding something she likes and then talk to her about that.”

“I don’t know anything about her!” Adora let out with a groan, resisting the urge to lay her head face down on the table.

“It’s a great opportunity to find out, then!” Bow offered her a grin, always the optimistic one.

“Come on Adora, it’s not like you never made friends before. You’ll be alright.” Glimmer tried her best to reassure her friend. “Plus, you’re one of the nicest people we know. Who wouldn’t like you?”

“You got this!” Bow beamed, giving her a thumbs up while leaning back on his chair.

Adora allowed herself to smile. Her friends were right, she had no reason to be stressing about this so much. She got this. She could totally talk to Catra. “You’re right. I can do it! Mission Befriend Catra starts now!” she said with determination. “Thanks guys.”

 “And so once again, the day is saved thanks to the Best Friend Squad!” Bow exclaimed before high-fiving the two of them, all laughing together. Adora felt her worries lessen a little, after all, it couldn’t be that hard to find something to talk about with Catra.

Right?

 

* * *

 

_Wrong._

It had been four days since her coffee shop pep talk and she still hadn’t made any progress on her so called mission. In fact, she had only seen Catra once during this time, the girl greeting her with the usual “hey Adora” she’d use any time she got home and ran into the blonde, before disappearing to her room.

After that, whenever Catra was home, Adora was in class. And whenever Adora was home, Catra was out at God knows where.

Right now, it was close to midnight and Catra still hadn’t arrived. Adora was almost falling asleep on the couch, a documentary about seahorses running on the TV, when she heard the sound of keys jingling by the front door, which made her suddenly wide awake.

Catra walked in, scratching the back of her neck and yawning while locking the door. She was just walking past the living room when she noticed Adora was there.

“Hey Adora” she said lazily, immediately moving to go to her bedroom, but Adora’s “wait!” stopped her. She turned around and looked at the girl, raising an eyebrow when she didn’t say anything.

_Shit. Shit. Shit. What do I say? Come on, just say something. Anything._

“Did you know some seahorses mate for life?”

_Okay, anything but that._

Catra tilted her head to the side in confusion. “Uh, no? I didn’t know that.” She yawned again. “So... I’ll just- I’m going to bed.”

“G-Good night.” Adora managed to say, breaking her mortified silence. Could someone actually die from embarrassment? Because she was pretty sure she was dying right now.

“Night.” And then Catra was gone again.

_Seahorses? Seriously?_

She couldn’t believe she had just said that. Not only they didn’t know each other, but now Catra also probably thought she was crazy.

She wanted to scream in frustration, but on the off chance that Catra wasn’t already questioning her mental health, that certainly would make her do so.

She needed to come up with a plan to show Catra she wanted to be her friend, and she needed to do it fast. And this time, she couldn’t screw it up.

 

* * *

 

Three days after the seahorse incident, she had her plan.

She talked to Glimmer and Bow again and, after laughing for ten minutes straight at her – during which at one point the soda Glimmer was drinking actually started coming out of her nose – they told her that if she couldn’t talk to Catra, maybe it'd be a good a idea to show her that she wanted to be friends instead.

And that was what she was doing right now.

For the past couple of days, although Catra had been coming home earlier, she also always seemed to be exhausted. So, Adora decided to help.

Twenty minutes before leaving for her morning class, she made coffee and left a note on the fridge with “i noticed you’ve been tired. made you  some coffee,  hope it helps (:”  written on it.  

When she got home in the afternoon, there was no sign of Catra, but the coffee pot was completely empty. And underneath her note, scribbled in a messy handwriting, were the words “thanks, dork”.

 

* * *

 

Okay, so perhaps they still didn’t talk. But now they had a routine.

Every time before leaving, Adora would make sure the coffee pot was full and leave a note on the fridge – they were mostly simple things like “have a nice day!” or stuff about the apartment, like “we’re out of milk” – and every time she came home, the coffee would be gone and she’d have a reply, which were almost always sarcastic and made her laugh.

To her milk note, Catra replied with “no shit”. When Adora opened the fridge door, she still found a new gallon of milk nonetheless.

One day, Adora came home to something new. On the fridge, instead of the usual reply, she found out Catra had bought magnets, and they were currently spelling “i got magnets fuckers”. From then on, instead of notes, Catra would just spell something with the magnets. Mainly swear words.

One night, Adora had just gotten home and went to the kitchen, expecting to see “boobs” spelled on the fridge – last night’s word was “ass” – but, instead, the magnets were spelling “help”. Or, at least, she thinks that’s what Catra wanted to write. The actual word she wrote was “halp”.

“Catra?” she called out in the apartment. She heard a noise coming from the bathroom, which prompted her to move down the hall towards it.

When she pushed open the bathroom door and turned on the light switch, the first thing she saw was Catra sitting down on the floor, holding onto the toilet as if her life depended on it. The girl turned around slightly to face her, managing only a slurred “heyyy Adora” before throwing up.

Adora sighed.

This was going to be a long night.     

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> should i be focusing on my other fanfic? yes  
> did i suddenly get the urge to write this in the middle of the night? also yes
> 
> as usual, comments and kudos are very much appreciated <3


	2. oh my god they were roommates

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you so much for all the response in such a short time <3  
> i honestly wasn't expecting anyone to read this lol  
> love y'all

Carrying a drunk Catra out of the bathroom was easier than she thought it would be. Catra was surprisingly light, and Adora was strong, easily managing to pull the other girl off the floor when she was sure she wasn’t going to throw up anymore.

Right now, Catra had an arm around her shoulder and Adora’s hand on her waist to support her as they slowly made their way to Catra’s room. Adora had never actually been in there, only catching glimpses of it on the rare occasions Catra would leave the door open, so she was surprised to walk in and see band posters all over the walls, a table with at least six cans of red bull, and clothes strewn all around the place.  It looked like Catra’s closet had exploded in there.

She was _really_ thankful Catra didn’t bring that mess to the rest of the apartment.

Adora gently removed the other girl’s arm from her shoulders and laid her on the bed. “I’ll go get you some water, alright?”

“Hey Adora, there’s two of you” Catra slurred “I could live with two of you. That’d be fun. When did the other you move in?”

Adora chuckled and walked out the room, grabbing a glass of water from the kitchen and a bottle of painkillers before returning.

“Look, the Adoras are back!”

Adora put the water glass and the painkillers on the nightstand. “I’ll go to my room now. Will you be okay by yourself?”

“’I’m not a baby” Catra mumbled, and Adora took that as a yes. She was just about to leave when she felt someone hold onto her wrist. She looked back, only to be met with golden and blue eyes staring at her.

“Thanks, Adora”

She smiled softly at the girl. “No problem. If you need anything just call out to me.”

She then went to her bedroom, hearing a slurred “my hero” being said as she was leaving.

Laying in her bed, she found out sleep was evading her that night, and her mind was racing with thoughts. Was this finally the chance for them to get closer? Would Catra even remember all that in the morning?

God, she hoped so.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Adora left before Catra woke up – making sure the coffee pot was full, of course – and when she got home, the other girl wasn’t there. She was beginning to think last night wouldn’t even be mentioned at all at this point, and she couldn’t help the small pang of disappointment she felt.

That’s when she saw the magnets spelling “thanks” on the fridge. She opened the door and found a strawberry smoothie she most certainly didn’t remember leaving there, and attached to it was a note saying “wasn’t sure which flavor you liked so i bought my favorite one. ps: thanks again for putting up with my bullshit.”

Adora positively _beamed_.

If asked, she wouldn’t be able to recall what her favorite smoothie used to be to save her life.

But right now, it was definitely strawberry.

 

* * *

 

Their routine as once again slightly changed.

Along with the magnets messages, Catra would sometimes leave some of the foods she liked for Adora in the fridge. So far, she had left things like a piece of chocolate cake, a slice of pepperoni pizza, a pack of twizzles and, on one occasion, a bottle of vodka.

The only one Adora didn’t even touch was the last one, to which she found a note attached saying “rude” the next night.  

She told all of this to her friends one day over lunch, updating Bow and Glimmer about her situation with Catra and explaining the whole thing to Mermista, who had decided to join them, leaving out the seahorse mishap.

“So, you’re telling me the only way you talk to this girl is through notes?” Mermista asked in her eternally bored tone.

“Y-yeah, aside from the night she was drunk. But we’re making progress! She leaves stuff for me now, that’s already a step up. Right guys?”

Bow nodded happily, while Glimmer didn’t look so convinced. “I don’t know, Adora. When we told you to show her that you wanted to be friends, it was so that you could move past that and actually talk at some point.”

“But hey, now she has something to talk about! She knows some of her favorite foods, so she can start a conversation with that.”

Bow was right! She now knew something about Catra besides her name, and sure, it wasn’t much, but it was already a beginning.

“Plus, it can’t go much worse than the seahorse thing.”

“What seahorse thing?” Mermista asked.

Bow and Glimmer snickered.

Adora let out a loud groan.

 

* * *

 

One morning, she was getting ready to go out for a run, not having any early classes that day, when she heard Catra’s bedroom door opening. That was weird, she never left the room while Adora was home. She saw the girl walk into the living room, messy hair falling on her face and wearing an oversized shirt, a sleepy look in her eyes that changed to surprise when she spotted the blonde on the couch.

“Hey, Adora” she drawled out, voice even raspier than usual due to her just waking up.

_Did the room just get hotter all of a sudden?_

“H-Hi, Catra. Good morning.” Adora forced a casual tone while inside she was screaming. She wanted so badly to talk to the other girl, but she didn’t want to make a fool of herself again. It was then she realized she had been staring at Catra, and immediately moved her attention to her shoelaces and focused on tying them.

_Yeah, that was better than keep staring at Catra’s face._

_Her beautiful, lightly freckled face._

_Focus, Adora!_

While she was busy with her thoughts, she hadn’t even noticed Catra had left to the kitchen and was now back with a mug of coffee, leaning against the wall and watching Adora with an amused smirk on her lips.

“What?”

“Need a help with that?” Catra motioned with her head to Adora’s untied shoelace, to which she had been staring intently for the past minute, not even noticing she had only tied one of her shoes.

She blushed, muttering a “no, thanks” and quickly tying it.

Catra let out a chuckle. “You going out for a run?”

“Yeah.” Adora stood up, heading in the direction of the entrance to their apartment. “I didn’t have any classes this morning so I thought a run would be nice.”

Catra finished her coffee, moving away from the wall before saying “Mind if I join you?”

Adora couldn’t believe it. The Gods had finally taken mercy on her. This was her opportunity, she was sure of it. And it was a great one – not only they’d be spending time together, she’d also get to impress Catra. Adora was the athletic type, and running was one of the things she was best at.

“Not at all.” Adora smiled.

“Great, just give me five minutes to get ready.”

 

* * *

 

As it turns out, Catra was fast.

Like, really fast.

Adora almost had trouble keeping up with her, but when Catra turned to her with mischief shining in her eyes and said “catch me if you can, princess” before speeding off, only looking back to wink at Adora, the blonde knew it was _on._ She was never one to back out from a challenge, and she certainly wouldn’t do it now.

She still lost anyway.

They had been running for about forty minutes, the blonde being only slightly behind Catra, when Adora heard someone say “hey! Your shoes are untied!” to her, and the second she looked down to check, she tripped over her shoelaces, making her lose her balance. She closed her eyes, bracing for the impact of her fall that was sure to come.

But it never did.

Instead, when she opened her eyes, she found out she was in Catra’s arms, the girl holding her firmly around the waist, putting her face to face with that wicked smirk of hers.

“Surrender?”

Adora gulped, trying to search her brain for an answer. When the first thought that crossed her mind was “please have my babies”, she decided to just stay quiet.

Catra chuckled and released her after a few seconds, taking a gulp of the water bottle she had brought along. “Maybe you should have let me help earlier.”

“Hey, it wasn’t my fault. That could totally happen to anyone.” Adora bent down to tie her shoes – Catra waiting by her side – and was in the middle of doing so when she heard two distinct but very familiar voices calling out her name. She looked up, and was met with the vision of two people quickly approaching them.

Bow and Glimmer.

Her best friends.

The ones she had been whining to about her hot roommate, who was standing right next to her, for the past two weeks.

_Uh oh._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i plan on making this maybe 2 or 3 chapters longer, idk yet  
> hope you guys enjoyed this one,  
> and leave kudos and comments if you did <3


	3. Chapter 3

“Hi Adora!” Bow exclaimed, moving to envelope his friend in a hug, only to stop midway when he noticed how sweaty she was. “Uh, I’ll save the hug for later.” He glanced at the girl standing by Adora’s side, extending his hand for a handshake with a friendly smile on his face. “Hi! I’m Bow.”

The girl shook his hand. “I’m Catra.”

Bow and Glimmer’s eyes widened.

Adora took that as her cue to start talking. “Hi guys! This is Catra, my roommate. Catra, those are my best friends, Bow and Glimmer.”

_Please don’t let them embarrass me. Please don’t let them embarrass me._

Glimmer had a smug smile on her face. “So, you’re the infamous Catra, huh?”

_Here we go._

Catra looked confused. “Infamous?”

“Yes! Adora talks about you all the time.” Bow answered with a grin.

Catra’s expression was one of surprise for a few seconds, but then it turned into a smirk as she faced Adora. “She does?” She raised an eyebrow, moving slightly closer to Adora. “Nice things, I hope?”

“Uhh...” Adora was at a loss. She never knew what to say around Catra, or even how to act. But she knew one thing: she was tired of being reduced to a mess by this girl. So, even as the mini-Adora in her brain screamed that this was a terrible idea, she raised her chin in defiance and mimicked Catra’s movement, reducing even more the distance between them, and stared into her eyes.

“The best.” She even allowed a teasing tone to slip into her voice. The mini-Adora in her mind high-fived herself.

Catra definitely wasn’t expecting that, if the blush currently appearing on her cheeks was any indication. She moved away, scratching the back of her neck and looking at anywhere but Adora.  She cleared her throat. “T-That’s good.”

She had never seen Catra flustered before, but now that she had, she knew she’d want to see more of it. More than that, she wanted to _be_ the reason why Catra got like that again.

Glimmer cleared her throat.

_Oh, right. Her friends were standing right there._

Her sudden burst of confidence was gone, and she could already feel her face starting to warm up. She turned to them, a forced smile on her face. “So, what are you guys doing around here?”

Glimmer glanced at Adora then at Catra, a suspicious look on her face. “Mermista is having a party next weekend and she wanted us to invite you. We would just have texted but we saw you two passing by, so...” She trailed off, her eyes returning to Adora.

Adora knew Glimmer. She was letting the whole attempt-to-flirt-with-hot-roommate thing go. _For now._ Adora was pretty sure she was going to have a small interrogation to answer to later.

“Hey, Catra, why don’t you come too?” Bow asked.

“Uh, I’m not sure. I mean, this girl doesn’t even know me.”

“Mermista won’t mind” Glimmer argued “As much as she complains about people, she loves when her parties are full.”

Catra turned to Adora, as if looking for an answer. When Adora just shrugged, she looked back to the duo she had just met. “Then yeah, I’ll go.”

Glimmer and Bow beamed. Adora just looked panicked.

“Hey Adora, I gotta go. I’ll head back home to shower and then I’ll probably be out the whole day.” Her smirk was now back in full force. “See ya tonight,” she told the blonde with a wink, “and see you guys on the weekend.”

“S-See ya.” Adora said while finger gunning. 

Glimmer snickered.

After Catra left, Adora faced her two best friends.

“What the hell was that?”

“We could ask you the same thing.” Glimmer crossed her arms. “Were you flirting with her? Do you, like, have a crush on her?”

“No!” Adora was pretty sure her face was doing its best impression of a tomato right now.  “I was just... talking to her.”

“That wasn’t talking. Talking is what you’re doing to us, right now, and we don’t look like we’re about to kiss.”

Bow, mercifully, decided to interrupt. “Come on Glimmer, give her a break, alright? And Adora, now you finally get the chance to spend time with her. What’s a better place to get to know each other than at a party?”

“At your shared apartm-“ Bow kicked Glimmer’s shin.

Adora sighed. “I don’t know guys. Every time I try to talk to her, I only embarrass myself. But how could I not?” she started pacing, throwing her hands up in the air in exasperation. “You guys saw her smirk, didn’t you? You know what I mean, right?”

“I did, but I don’t get what’s the big deal.”

Adora turned to Glimmer. “What about you?”

Glimmer had a faraway look on her face, then looking at Adora and staring firmly into her eyes before giving a curt nod. “I know what you mean.”

Bow facepalmed.

 

* * *

 

“My roommate’s friend invited me to a party.” Catra was currently sweeping at the bar she kind of worked at. Her friend, Scorpia, owned the place and during one of the many nights Catra spent there complaining about her life, she had said “since you spend so much time around here, you could at least be getting paid for that.”

At first, Catra refused. She didn’t know what she wanted to do with her life but she was certain it wasn’t to be a bartender. But then Scorpia offered her a deal: she’d call Catra only when she needed her to do something, and once she was done, she was free to leave. She’d also still get paid as much as a full time employee.  There was only one condition: Catra would use her free time to figure out what the hell she did want to do, taking as much time as she needed.

To say Scorpia was a supportive friend was an understatement.

So that’s how Catra ended up partially-working at the bar she was currently at, where she mostly did things like helping to clean up the place,  dealing with customers on busy nights and sometimes even preparing drinks when their usual bartender, Lonnie, needed a hand.

Right now, it was a Monday, and she was cleaning up the mess left by people who apparently decided to drown their sadness about the weekend being over in alcohol.

_No, she wasn’t judging. Been there, done that._

Scorpia was also present, along with their accountant, Entrapta, a young woman who loved math way too much in Catra’s opinion. _Who the hell even likes math?_

“Wait, your roommate? The girl you took a whole minute to remember the name after living with her for five months?” Scorpia asked.

“Yep. But we’ve been getting closer, I guess? We went out for a run this morning and ended up meeting her friends, and they told me about the party. Apparently, Adora talks a lot about me.” She couldn’t help the smugness that crept into her voice during the last sentence.

“A party! That’s a great opportunity for observing people and analyzing their behavior. You should go, Catra.” And _that_ was Entrapta, who was perched on the counter just a few feet away.

“I already said I’d go. Sure, college kids can be annoying, but one party with them can’t leave me brain damaged, right? Plus, Adora and her friends are alright, so I guess I’ll survive.”

“So, this Adora girl...” Scorpia got up from where she was sitting, walking closer to Catra “you said she talks a lot about you. Maybe you’re her crush.”

Catra let out a snort. “No, no way she’s attracted to me. What would she even see in me?”

Scorpia ruffled her hair, a fond smile on her lips. “Don’t think so low of yourself. You’re great, anyone would be lucky to have you.”

Catra batted her hand away and glared briefly at Scorpia. “Fine, fine. But still, she must have people lining up for her. She’s really hot.”

She didn’t mean to actually _say_ the last sentence, and she could already feel her face heating up. The look Scorpia was giving her right now didn’t help either. “Don’t start!” She told her friend before she hadn’t even said anything, but that didn’t deter her in the slightest.

“You have a crush!”

“No, I don’t!”

Suddenly, Entrapta was right in front of her face, tilting her chin up and studying her closely. _When the hell did she even get up?_

“Appreciation for her anatomy, flushed cheeks, strong denial.” Catra pushed her away, a scowl on her lips. “Sounds like you have a crush.”

“I do NOT have a crush!”

 

* * *

 

When Catra came home that night, Adora had just gotten out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her still wet body. Catra stood by the doorway, eyes wide as they followed a single droplet of water that ran down the curve of Adora’s neck until it disappeared behind the towel.

Adora noticed her standing there and gave a small wave along with a smile. “Hi Catra, didn’t know you were already home,” was all she said before disappearing to her room.

Catra remained in the same place for at least five more minutes, heart beating fast in her chest.

Okay, maybe she _did_ have a crush.

 

* * *

 

On Tuesday morning while making coffee, Adora noticed a pile of dishes in the sink she was certain wasn’t there last night. Normally, she would just let it go and wash it – Catra never gave her trouble when it came to keeping the apartment organized, usually cleaning up after her messes – but today she was running a bit late, not having time to spare.

Suddenly, she had an idea. She just wasn’t sure if it was a good one.

As she grabbed the pen and the post-it she used for the little messages she left for Catra, she hesitated at least three times before finally writing it.

When the coffee was done, she put the note on the fridge door and read it one last time before leaving for class, an amused smirk on her face.

 

* * *

 

“dear catra,

I’m feeling very dirty, please do me

\- dishes”

 

Catra’s laugh echoed through the kitchen, its remnants then turning into a grin that stayed on her lips even as she washed the plates.

 

* * *

 

That night, while Adora was in her room studying for an exam that was coming up, she noticed the sound of rain pouring down outside. It was quickly followed by a crack of thunder so loud it made her window tremble slightly.

_I hope the power doesn’t go out._

Just then, the door to her room burst open. She whipped around in her chair, only to be met with Catra standing by her door, a frightened look on her face.

“Is-“ a sigh, apparently, Catra was having trouble saying whatever it was she wanted to say. “Is it okay if I stay here?” she spoke quickly, the words almost melding together. If Adora hadn’t been listening so closely, she wouldn’t have understood what the girl had said.

But she did. And she could see Catra was embarrassed.

She put on a kind smile before saying “sure.” Then she got up and moved to her bed. “We can get in bed if you want.”

Catra stared at her, embarrassment and fear now gone, replaced by her trademark smirk.

“Oh my God. That- That’s not- I meant we could sit on my bed! Just sit, so we can talk and stuff. NO! No stuff, just so we can talk and-“

Her rambling was interrupted by Catra’s laugh. “Relax, I’m just fucking with you. Figuratively, of course. Unless-” there was a glint in her eyes as she moved closer, voice lowering as she said “you wanna change that?”

Adora, then, did her best impression of a goldfish. Mouth opening and closing, but unable to form any words.  

Catra burst out laughing. “I’m joking, I’m joking.” She walked to the bed, bumping shoulders with Adora lightly as she passed, and sat down.

Adora was still in goldfish mode.

Another thunder, even louder than the last, made her brain finally stop short-circuiting. She was able to move again, turning around to face Catra, ready to start a lecture about how it’s not right to mess with people like that, but what she saw made her heart break a little.

The girl was clutching a pillow tightly to her chest, face pale and distressed, looking at Adora with a pleading look.

The blonde didn’t waste a second before moving to sit down on the bed in front of Catra, taking her hand and squeezing it a bit in reassurance. “Hey, hey. It’s okay, I’m right here.”

Catra squeezed her hand back, holding onto it for at least a minute before she began to calm down again. She then let go, and Adora couldn’t help but miss its warmth. The other girl still looked scared though, so Adora decided they needed a distraction, something to take Catra’s mind off the storm outside. She thought for a bit before an idea came to her. “Wanna play twenty one questions?”

Letting out a breath and releasing some of the tension from her body, Catra’s features relaxed and she smiled.

“Let’s play, princess.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a longer chapter because i'll be out of town for the weekend so the next update will be delayed for a bit.  
> anyway, thank you all again for the support this fic is receiving!!!  
> your comments and kudos make my day, so please leave them if you enjoyed this chapter <3  
> see you soon


	4. Chapter 4

One hour and nineteen questions later, the storm had finally turned into a light rain, barely audible to the two girls inside the apartment, who were currently focused on more important things.

“Wait, you’re telling me you had to actually run from the cops?” 

Catra laughed. Adora had asked her what was the wildest thing she had ever done, so Catra told her about the time she was fifteen and out with her friends, spraying graffiti on the walls of the neighbourhood – Catra, as always, had a fondness for obscene words – when a police car drove by and saw them. Long story short, Catra had to sprint for ten blocks, dodging angry dogs as she ran through backyards, only managing to get home an hour later. She still says it was totally worth it, though.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m not sure if that’s the wildest thing I’ve ever done though, but it’s one I can remember right now.” Catra took a bite of the chocolate bar they were sharing - at some point they had gotten hungry and went to the kitchen in search of a snack before returning to the room. “My turn to ask.”

So far, Catra had gotten to know a lot about Adora. Simple things, like that her favorite animal was a horse, her favorite color was blue and her birthday was on January 19th. And deeper things like the fact that she was an orphan, was raised by her aunt and that she sometimes feared not being able to fulfill the expectations she had for herself. 

She also learned that Adora had read the whole twilight series. _Twice_.

Adora, too, had found out more things about Catra. Like that she loved the color red, cats and rock music. And when asked about relatives, she’d just wave her hand in a dismissive way and say “none worth mentioning.”

“If you could have one superpower, what would it be?”

Adora thought before answering, biting her lip while she did so. She noticed Catra’s gaze move to her mouth for a few seconds before returning to meet her eyes again. 

“I guess it would be mind reading.” _So I could find out if you want to kiss me as much as I want to kiss you._

“Really?” Catra’s voice was low as she talked, a smirk starting to form on her mouth as she moved closer to Adora. “What if you found out something you didn’t like?”

Adora began to lean in as well, not sure how she was still functioning properly with Catra this close.  Her words came out as a whisper as she said “I don’t think I would.”

Just then, the power went out.

They both resisted the urge to groan.

“You have a flashlight in here?”

“Yes, just wait a second.” Catra saw Adora’s silhouette get up from the bed, and then heard a rumble as Adora searched through, what she assumed, was her nightstand’s drawer.

Suddenly, the room was illuminated by a bright white light. “Found it.” Adora had the flashlight in her hand and a smile on her face.

“You light up my world.” Catra said with a dramatic sigh, lying down on the bed. Adora snorted, throwing the wrapper of the chocolate they were eating into the trash and positioning the flashlight as a lamp on her desk, before sitting back where she was.

“You wanna continue the game?”

Catra shrugged. “It’s not like we have much better to do. It’s your turn.”

Something Adora had always wanted to know came to mind. “Do you have a job or something? And if the answer is yes, what do you do?”

“Wait, wait, wait. That’s two questions. Your _final_ two questions. Are you sure that’s how you wanna spend them?”

She had so many other things she wanted to ask. If Catra was into girls, if she’d ever go out with her, if they were just about to kiss ten minutes ago. But she couldn’t bring herself to ask any of those questions, so she just settled for a “I’m sure.”

Catra looked disappointed for a second, as if she was expecting more, but then her lips changed into a mischievous grin as she sat up, voice coming out in a conspiratorial whisper.

“I’m gonna need you to keep it a secret, alright?”

At the blonde’s nod, she put on her best serious expression. “I’m a drug dealer.”

Adora scoffed. “As if I would ever believe that.”

Catra didn’t even hesitate. “I’m being serious. Think about it, why else would I come home so late, never follow a schedule and somehow still make enough money to pay rent?”

She watched with interest as Adora thought about what she had just said. She could practically see the gears turning in her head, shock written all over her features. “Oh my God.” Then, her expression changed to panic. “OH MY GOD. Catra, what if you get arrested? No, no- What if I get arrested? Can I get arrested as an accomplice? Or that only works for murder? Catra I don’t wanna be your roommate in prison-“

Catra couldn’t hold it in any longer.

She burst out laughing.

“I can’t believe you actually-“ she tried to speak, but she was laughing so hard tears were actually coming out of her eyes right now “I can’t believe you actually fell for that.”

Adora was _not_ amused.

She grabbed a pillow and started hitting Catra, only causing the other girl to laugh even more. “I can’t believe you’d joke about something like that!”

Catra put her hands up in surrender, laughter at last beginning to die down. “Sorry, sorry” she wiped her eyes, a few chuckles still escaping her as she finally calmed enough to talk properly. “Mind putting your oh-so-deadly weapon away?”

Adora slowly put the pillow down, all the while glaring suspiciously at Catra, and crossed her arms. “Where do you work, then?”

“My friend owns a bar, and I have a deal with her. She only calls me when she needs me for whatever reason, and when I’m done with what she asks me to do, I can leave.  I mostly just help with cleaning or closing and opening the place up. I still get paid as much as anyone else in there, though.”

Adora tilted her head to the side in confusion. “That’s nice, but what do you have to do in return?”

A smirk surged on Catra’s lips. “Get my shit together.” Her tone changed to a softer one then, fondness evident in her voice “Scorpia has always looked out for me. She really wants me to be happy. Aside from her, I have like-“ she paused to count, lifting one finger for each name that crossed her mind “Entrapta, Kyle, Lonnie, Rogelio. Four friends.”

Adora gently took her hand and lifted one more finger, putting her palm against Catra’s. “Five,” she corrected.

Catra gave a slight nod, saying “five” with uncertainty, as if she was still processing that idea.  Then, she slowly allowed a smile to appear and said it again, in a much surer tone.

“Five.”

Adora _beamed._

When she noticed things were getting a little too emotional for her liking, Catra let her hand linger where it was for a few more seconds before pulling it away. She cleared her throat. “So, it’s my turn now, right?”

“Right.”

“Let me think...” she paused a bit, a dangerous look forming in her eyes. “Do you believe in ghosts?”

Adora immediately shook her head. “Nope.”

“Then what’s that behind you?”

The blonde whipped around to find, of course, nothing.

She grabbed the pillow again and threw it at Catra’s face. “I’m gonna kick you out.”

Catra smirked. “Are you sure you wanna be alone in here with _that?_ ” She motioned to the direction behind Adora, but the other girl refused to turn again.

“That’s it, you’re banished back to your room!” She pushed a laughing Catra until she was standing up.

“Alright, alright. I’m leaving.” Catra walked to the door. “Night Adora, night demon.”

She was just about to leave, hand already gripping the doorknob when she heard a quiet “Catra?”

She turned around, only to be met with the vision of Adora curled up on the bed with the covers up to her chin.

“Yes?”

“Could you- um, could you stay?”

Catra felt _guilty_. “You know I was messing with you, right?”

“I know, I know. But still, the power’s out and it’s dark and the flashlight is making the shadows look... kinda creepy.”

She looked around the room. Well, Adora wasn’t wrong. And to be honest, she didn’t really feel like being alone either, so.

“I’ll stay.”

 

* * *

 

When she woke up the next morning, Adora noticed four things almost at once.

First, the power was back. Her lamp and fan were on, like they were last night before the electricity went out.

Second, her body was _aching_. It felt like someone had run her over with a truck while she slept.

Third, when she tried to breathe, she discovered she had a stuffy nose and her throat felt like it was on fire.

And last but _definitely_ not least, Catra was curled up to her. The girl’s arm was draped over her stomach, and her face was dangerously close to being buried in Adora’s neck. She was sure that’s not how they went to sleep last night.

She was starting to freak out, thinking about how would she get up without waking Catra and making things awkward, when she felt a sneeze coming.

_Oh no._

It was too late to try to hold it in. She sneezed. _Loudly_.

Catra’s eyes flew open, and, acting on instinct due to being startled awake, she jumped away from Adora. She did notice though the position they were in before, and was debating whether to comment on it or not when she glanced at the girl. _Something’s not right_.

“Adora? Are you alright? You look a little pale.”

“Don’t worry, I’m-“ another sneeze “-fine.”

Catra raised an eyebrow.

“Okay, I think I _might_ be sick.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helloooooo  
> you guys are amazing and leave such nice comments, they never fail to make me smile  
> also i just got back home and wanted to get this chapter to you as fast as i could so please excuse any mistakes
> 
> let me know if you enjoyed this one, and if you did leave kudos and comments  
> because they are very very very much appreciated.  
> love y'all and i'll see you soon <3


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> we're almost at 300 kudos!!!  
> thank you so much

**To:** best friend squad!!!!!

 

 **Adora (9:02 a.m.):** _Guys I don’t think I’ll be able to go to class today_

 **Bow (9:06 a.m.):** _Why?? Did something happen?_

 **Adora (9:08 a.m.):** _I woke up feeling sick but it’s probably nothing serious, don’t worry_

 **Glimmer (9:08 a.m.):** _want us to come over?? we can just skip class_

 **Adora (9:11 a.m.):** _Glimmer stop trying to find excuses to miss class_

 **Glimmer (9:12 a.m.):** _rude_

 **Glimmer (9:12 a.m.):** _i'_ _m just concerned about my friend’s well being_

 **Glimmer (9:13 a.m.):** _also i have a class with ms thompson today and she's a bitch_

 **Bow (9:15 a.m.):** _As unnoble Glimmer’s motives are, she’s right_

 **Bow (9:15 a.m.):** _We can go take care of you if you want_

 **Adora (9:18 a.m.):** _Thanks guys but I’ll be okay, Catra just went out to buy advil and some food for me_

 **Bow (9:20 a.m.):** _Aw, that’s sweet. Hope you feel better soon!!!_

 **Adora (9:21 a.m.):** _Thanks Bow <3_

 **Glimmer (9:26 a.m.):** _oh, well. have fun with hot nurse catra then (;_

 **Glimmer (9:27 a.m.):** _wait that sounded weirdly like a sex tape title_

* * *

 

Catra stood on one of the grocery store’s halls, looking lost. After googling “how to take care of a sick person” and searching through at least four different websites – one even including a eight steps guide - she had found out that the best way to nurse someone back to health was to keep them well nourished and hydrated.

Which is why her shopping cart now had twelve water bottles and six cups of chicken noodle soup in it, along with some fruits and different types of tea.

Checking her phone, she scanned the website one more time to make sure she wasn’t forgetting anything, and noticed something she had missed before:

_If possible, avoid processed foods and opt for homemade ones instead._

Sighing, she opened Google again and searched “how to make chicken soup”.

 

* * *

 

Adora was lying on the couch, mindlessly watching TV, when she heard the apartment door open and saw Catra walk in, arms full of grocery bags and mumbling something along the lines of “why the fuck instant noodles have so much sodium”. She then disappeared to the kitchen, returning a few minutes later with a water bottle and an Advil pill on her hand. 

Adora sat up, shooting her roommate a grateful smile before downing the pill along with water. She was about to leave the bottle on the coffee table when Catra spoke up.

“You should drink more. I read staying hydrated is one of the most important things to do when you’re sick.” 

Adora raised an eyebrow. “You read?”

Catra’s cheeks flushed slightly pink.

“Y-yeah, some time ago, of course. I definitely didn’t search how to take care of someone. That’d be dumb. I don’t even like you enough for that.”

Adora had a fond smile on her face, and Catra knew she didn’t believe a single word she had just said. “Sure,” she drawled the word out, a teasing tone on her voice. She still took a few more gulps of water before lying back down, though.

“How are you feeling?”

“Better than when I woke up. I still don’t know why you didn’t let me go to class, I could’ve totally handled it.” Adora whined, a pout appearing on her lips.

“Adora, you literally fell to the floor when you tried to get up.”

“I got lightheaded! It happens when I stand up too fast.”

“You took a whole minute just to sit up on the bed.”

Adora huffed. “Whatever.” The angry expression she was trying to pull off was broken by a sneeze.

Catra shook her head in admonishment and walked away, coming back moments later with a pack of tissues and a blanket. “Here, dork,” she threw the tissues at the blonde, and then proceeded to drape the blanket over her frame. When she saw Adora’s surprised look, she blushed.

“That thing-, uh, that thing I read a long time ago also said that when you’re sick you gotta make sure to stay warm. And comfortable.”

Adora knew that. That wasn’t why she was surprised. What she wasn’t expecting was Catra to cover her, thinking the girl would just throw her the blanket like she had done with the tissues. She was glad she did anyway, and decided not to comment on it, only offering her a gentle smile.

“Thank you. For all this.”

Catra scratched the back of her neck, still looking a little flustered. “No problem,” she then nodded her head in the direction of the kitchen. “I’ll be in there if you need me, okay?”

“Okay.”   

Once in the kitchen, Catra stared at the ingredients she had bought for the chicken soup, poking them as if thinking they’d suddenly come alive and attack her.

_I just hope she doesn’t die from food poisoning while I’m trying to make her healthy._

Grabbing her phone and opening her browser on the page of the recipe she had found before, she looked at the ingredients again, a determined expression surging on her face.

“Alright fuckers, you’re about to turn into the best chicken soup ever made.”

 

* * *

 

 **To:** Scorpia

 

 **Catra (10:47 a.m.):** _scorpia how the fuck do i “gently” fry an onion_

 **Catra (10:47 a.m.):** _do i apologize for frying it or some shit_

 **Catra (10:48 a.m.):** _also can’t go today, adora’s sick_

 **Scorpia (10:51 a.m.):** _Fry it at a low temperature_

 **Scorpia (10:52 a.m.):** _And no problem! Tell your crush to get well soon!_

 **Catra (10:56 a.m.):** _she’s NOT my crush ffs_

 **Catra (10:57 a.m.):** _stop with this bullshit or i’ll gently fry you_

 **Scorpia (11:03 a.m.):** _I think in that case deep frying would be more effective_

 

* * *

 

Forty five minutes later – during which twenty of those were spent in a phone call with Scorpia, who could now practically start a podcast called Beginner’s Guide to Cooking When You’re a Dumbass – and the soup was done. As it turns out, Catra wasn’t that terrible of a cook. When she finally learned the basics of it, she managed to handle the rest pretty well and with minimum damage to their kitchen.

Sure, there were probably more dishes in the sink than what was actually necessary to make a simple soup, but Catra was expecting to have to deal with a fire or something like that, so a few dirty plates and utensils could actually be counted as a small victory.

She walked into the living room, carrying a tray with a bowl containing the soup and a mug filled with chamomile tea, finding Adora with her eyes closed.

“Adora?”

The blonde’s eyes slid open, widening a bit when she saw the tray. “Catra, you didn’t have to do all this.”

Catra just shrugged and handled her the tray. “I wanted to.”

Adora grinned. “Isn’t this doing a little too much for someone you don’t even like?”

“Who says I didn’t poison the food?” She replied with a smirk.

“I do, you act all tough but I know you’re secretly a dork. And I know you like me.” As if to prove her point, she took a spoonful of the soup. “Oh my god, this tastes so good.”

“Really?” Catra looked surprise for a second, and then “I mean, of course it does. I’m a fucking great cook. And I’m not a dork, I’m evil. Fear me.”

“You know, people say that the secret to a great meal is cooking with love.” Adora took more of the soup, swallowing before continuing. “What’s your secret ingredient then, evil chef?”

“The tears of my enemies.”

Adora snorted.

 

* * *

 

After she was done with the soup, Catra took the tray along with the empty bowl back to the kitchen, leaving the mug on the coffee table since Adora hadn’t finished the tea yet.

When she returned, Adora lifted her feet off the couch so Catra could sit, laying them back down on the girl’s lap once she had plopped down.

“So, what else did that thing you read say?”

“Huh?” Catra took a few seconds to realize what she was talking about, letting out a chuckle when she did. “Oh, nothing much. Just to make sure you rest and stuff like that.”

“So I’m stuck to this couch for the rest of the day,” the blonde sighed dramatically. “Unless you let me go to my afternoon class?” she said in a hopeful tone, batting her eyelashes at her roommate.

Catra remained unfazed. “Not a chance.”

Adora pouted, kicking lightly at Catra’s arm. The girl grabbed her foot and started tickling it, making Adora laugh and squirm on the couch. “Is that how you show your gratefulness to me?”

“Don’t-“ Adora could barely get the words out. “Don’t be mean! I’m sick!” She said in between giggles.

Catra paused on the tickling. “Then say ‘thank you, supreme ruler of the universe, Catra.’”

Adora scoffed. “No way.”

Catra threatened to tickle her again. The blonde put her hands up in surrender. “Alright, alright! I’ll say it.” She scowled, mumbling “thank you, supreme ruler of the universe, Catra.”

Catra had a smirk on her face. “See? Was that so hard?”

Adora grumbled. “You’re annoying.”

“You like it,” she said in a smug tone. She then grabbed the remote, opening the Netflix app on the TV. “Wanna watch a movie?”

Adora nodded distractedly, her phone now in hand while she typed something.

“Hey, is the door unlocked?”

“Yeah, why?” Catra was picking a film, snorting at how ridiculous some of the summaries to them sounded. There was even one about a shark-infested tornado. Actually, scratch that, there were _six_ about shark-infested tornadoes.

“Bow and Glimmer will stop by later and I don’t want them to interrupt the movie, so I just told them that the door’s open.”

“Okay,” Catra said as she pressed play on a movie she knew nothing about, but the cover had Cate Blanchett on it, so she was sold.

 

* * *

 

Halfway into the movie, she noticed a couple of things. First, she had been mindlessly tracing random patterns on Adora’s leg for god knows how long, and it was actually a pretty soothing motion. Second, when she turned to look at the blonde, she found out she probably thought so as well since she was fast asleep.

She was surprised to discover it didn’t feel weird. Actually, it felt natural.

It felt right.

She smiled softly. Adora looked cute, she could admit that. Some might even say she was... adora-ble.

She snickered at her own joke.

Feeling her eyelids start to get heavy, she decided to take a nap, laying her head on the back of the couch.

Her fingers only ceased their movement on Adora’s leg when she was completely asleep.

 

* * *

 

When Bow and Glimmer walked into the apartment thirty minutes later, they were met with a vision that surprised them at the same time it didn’t. Honestly, they should have seen it coming.

Adora was still out like a light on the couch, but Catra had moved in her sleep and was now not sitting up anymore, but kind of lying on top of Adora with her head resting on her chest, arm draped protectively over the girl.

Bow had to keep from squealing.

Glimmer took out her phone and snapped a quick picture of the sleeping duo, sending it to the best friend squad group chat, a grin on her face the entire time.

After that, the two quietly left.

 

* * *

 

 **To:** best friend squad!!!!!

 

 **Glimmer (4:46 p.m.):** _[Photo]_

 **Glimmer (4:46 p.m.):** _did i save that picture or did that picture save me_

 **Bow (4:49 p.m.):** _I once saw a couple so beautiful I started crying_

 **Bow (4:49 p.m.):** _Catradora for life_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think this was my favorite chapter so far lol  
> let me know what's yours and your thoughts on this one on the comments (:  
> next chapter will probably be out in a few days,  
> so i'll see y'all then <3


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> fluff.  
> that's it, that's the chapter.

When Adora woke up, it was a little past six p.m. and she had to try _really_ hard to not freak out when she saw Catra lying on top of her.

After breathing deeply for ten minutes, repeating to herself that Catra was just her friend, she felt her heartbeat calm a little.

Friends were allowed to cuddle, right? She had done this before with Bow and Glimmer, the three of them curled up together while watching a movie, heads resting on each other’s shoulders.

Yeah, this was so not a big deal.

Only...

She glanced at Catra, sleeping soundly and looking so peaceful, and felt her heart start to beat faster again – this time not out of panic, but out of something else Adora couldn’t quite place yet. She lightly touched Catra’s face, moving a few stray hairs that had fallen there, and couldn’t help the fond smile that appeared on her lips when the girl scrunched up her nose a bit.

This was different.

She never felt the urge to hold Bow and Glimmer tighter, or to stroke their hair. She didn’t imagine what would be like waking up like this with them in the morning, or how cute they looked while they slept.

But with Catra...

Adora heaved a deep sigh. She knew she’d have to deal with whatever this feeling was later. But for now...

She closed her eyes again, holding Catra closer to her chest.

She’d enjoy this moment while it lasted.

 

* * *

 

When Catra woke up, Adora had fallen back asleep. She didn’t feel like waking the blonde – the more rest she got, the better – and, admittedly, Catra was quite enjoying the way they were right now. So she just laid there, waiting for what would be an undoubtedly awkward conversation, with Adora all cute and scrambling for words, and Catra with that smug smirk, hiding that she was just as flustered as Adora.

But when the other girl finally woke up, all she did as chuckle and ask Catra if she was comfortable. At Catra’s dumbfounded nod, she shot her an apologetic smile and said that sadly she couldn’t serve as her pillow anymore because she needed to go to the bathroom. Catra wordlessly sat up, staring at Adora as if she suddenly had grown a second head, while she got up and walked away.

_What the hell?_

After Catra’s initial shock wore off, she was back to her normal self. Adora also seemed to be doing better, her face much less pale than what it was in the morning.

Were anyone to observe them from there on, they’d say the rest of their evening was pretty uneventful, without any major changes.

Adora went on a fifteen minute rant on the best friend’s squad group chat about how wrong Bow and Glimmer were, that she and Catra were definitely not a couple, and that they shouldn’t have taken the picture. She still saved it nonetheless.

Catra made Adora eat the rest of the soup, and the blonde whined that Catra was treating her like a baby, to which she was answered with “shut up or I will spoon feed you”.

They had tea and watched another movie together, showering and going to sleep right after.

No grand events.

But if that same observer were to watch for little gestures, small interactions, they’d notice tiny pieces of a puzzle slowly beginning to unfold right in front of them.

Hands brushing together when Catra handed Adora her soup and the tea, and staying that way long enough that it couldn’t be passed as unintentional.

Excuses to be closer, like Adora claiming she was cold and scooting up to Catra despite having a blanket right by her side and the temperature being nowhere near low.

Glances that would linger just until the other would notice, but never enough to raise questions.

So yeah, there was definitely a change.

Something big was happening, hidden away in small details.

 

* * *

 

Adora left a note on the fridge saying “thanks for being such a good nurse” along with a drawn heart the following morning, only to find “why did u draw a butt on this” scrambled underneath it once she got home.

When Catra came back from work around three a.m, next to her messy handwriting were the words “it’s not a butt!!!! it’s a heart :(“.

Routine, pretty much.

What was left of the week flew by, and soon it was Friday evening.

Scorpia had told Catra she could leave earlier because she had stayed until the bar closed last night, and helped to open up today. Catra had argued that the bar would be full since it was a Friday, but was quickly shut down by her friend saying “don’t worry about it, just go home” followed by a wink.

She had a strong suspicion this had something to do with a certain blonde girl that lived with her, and Scorpia wanting to play matchmaker.

But hey, she wasn’t complaining. She’d rather spend her time at home than with drunken idiots anyway. Perhaps they could watch that new Netflix show Adora wanted to see.

She was just approaching their apartment when she heard loud voices coming from inside, making her pause before opening the door.

When she walked in, she was met with a sight she wasn’t expecting, to put it mildly.

Glimmer was lying facedown on the floor, muttering about how betrayal comes from the ones you least expect.

Bow kept saying sorry over and over, while gently patting Glimmer in the back.

And Adora looked like she was trying really hard not to laugh at the whole scene.

Catra then saw something in the middle of all the madness. Right there, on the center of their coffee table, was a pile of Uno cards.

With a draw four on the top.

_Oh._

Adora finally noticed her standing there, and they both shared amused smirks before the blonde got up from where she was sitting on the floor and hurried to her side.

“Hey, sorry about that. They wanted to have a game night before Mermista’s party tomorrow.”

Catra glanced at the duo, who still were in the same position, and snorted. “Yep, standard game night alright.”

“We were playing Uno and things got a little... heated.”

Catra moved closer, and Adora subconsciously stepped back, making her get trapped between a wall and Catra.

“Y’know, I could show you a better way of making things get heated.” She spoke in a raspy voice, gaze briefly moving to Adora’s slightly parted lips. Catra heard the blonde take a sharp intake of breath, saw her mouth move like she was about to say something when-

“Hi Catra!”

That snapped them both out of... whatever that was, and they moved away from the other. Catra cleared her throat, glancing quickly to Adora to see her flushed cheeks, eyes glued to the floor.

“Hey Bow.”

Glimmer finally dragged herself into a sitting position again. “Hi Catra,” she said while looking between both girls, a confused expression on her face as she took in Adora’s state. “Did I miss something?”

“No!” Adora seemed to regain her ability to speak. “Catra just got home a little earlier than I thought she would, that’s all.”

“I could leave if you want to.”

The blonde turned to face her roommate, who was now the one looking to the floor, uncertainty written all over her features. Adora felt a pang in her chest at the view. She took Catra’s hand, a reassuring smile on her face. “Don’t. I want you to stay.”

Catra looked back at her. “You sure? I don’t want to intrude.”

“You’re not intruding! If anything, we’re the ones intruding, this is your apartment after all. Plus, you’re welcome to join us if you want.” Bow said, grinning at Catra.

“Yeah, and I could really use someone who's not a traitor around here.” Apparently, Glimmer was still bitter.

“But I didn’t even- I didn’t do anything!” Adora argued, “whatever, that’s not the point. The thing is,” she focused her attention back on Catra, giving her hand a gentle squeeze “we’d be really glad if you stayed.”

Catra smiled then, not a smirk or a grin, but an open and honest smile. Adora felt her heart skip a beat. “Okay, then. I guess I can stay.”

The blonde beamed, leading Catra to where Glimmer and Bow were by their still intertwined hands, only letting go when they were both sitting down.

“So, I think we’re done with Uno.” Bow said sheepishly.

“You think?” Glimmer glared at the boy, making him gulp.

“Guys, wait, let’s not start this again. Why don’t we let Catra choose a game?”

Catra tried thinking of a game, face lighting up when she found one. “How about we play Mario Kart? We can split up in two teams.”

“I’m with Glimmer!” Bow exclaimed immediately.

“No, you’re not.”

He put his arm around Glimmer’s shoulders, a grin on his face. “Come on, we can be Team Glow.”

“...Fine. But only because the name is cool.”

Catra had an amused smirk on her lips, watching the two interact before turning to Adora. “I guess that means we’re Team Catradora?”

Bow and Glimmer laughed when they heard the name, the latter even wiggling her eyebrows at the blonde.

Adora felt her cheeks warm. “Y-yeah. Catradora.”

“Alright then,” Catra said as she got up to turn on the videogame “you guys ready to get your asses whooped?”

 

* * *

 

The rest of the night was filled with laughter, small talk, some curses and a lot of “Bow, stop leaning with your controller! That’s not how it works!”

Also some threats. Like “blue shell me one more time and I will set you on fire.”

Catra took Mario Kart as seriously as Glimmer took Uno.

 

By two o'clock, the only one awake was Catra.

After it was clear that Team Catradora had won, Glimmer didn’t want to play anymore and they all concluded that it would be better if they just settled down to watch something on Netflix.

Which is why the TV was now playing Friends, and everyone had fallen asleep around three episodes ago.

When the “are you still watching?” sign came on, Catra decided to turn off the TV and get something to eat before going to sleep, moving quietly to the kitchen.

She was leaning against the counter, half done with a yogurt, when Adora walked in.

“Didn’t know you were awake.”

“I wasn’t,” the blonde said while rubbing her eyes.

“Can’t stay away from me even in your sleep, huh?” Catra’s voice had a smug tone, matching the grin on her face.

“Shut up.” Adora tried to sound annoyed, but Catra could see the hints of a smile on her lips. The girl opened the fridge, grabbing a water bottle before closing it again and taking a gulp of water.

Catra was scratching the back of her neck – Adora had noticed this was a nervous habit of hers – and looked like she was trying to find a way to say something. Adora waited patiently, knowing that whatever the girl wanted to say must be important to her.

After a while, Catra said it. “Thanks, uh, you know, for today. It was fun.”

A few seconds went by.

No reply.

Then a few more passed.

Just when she was beginning to think Adora hadn’t heard, two arms wrapped around her middle, holding her close to a warm body. “You don’t need to thank me for spending time with you, Catra. I spend time with you because I want to.” A pause, she felt herself being squeezed a little tighter. “Because I’m your friend.”

She finally managed to return the embrace, resting her face on Adora’s shoulder and closing her eyes, mumbling “okay” against the fabric of her shirt. That earned her a chuckle.

Right there, in their kitchen in the middle of the night with Adora in her arms and the smell of her perfume hitting her nose every time she inhaled, Catra felt at peace. A feeling almost foreign to her.

They stood like that for a while longer before Catra reluctantly pulled away, seeing Adora looking at her with a soft expression on her face.

“They like you, you know?” The blonde nodded her head in the direction of the living room. “Glimmer and Bow. Glimmer probably a little less, since you beat her three times.”

Catra chuckled. “They’re... cool, I think.” A smirk, “I mean, they’re dorks but I guess that’s okay. Apparently, I have a soft spot for dorks.”

The last sentence was said while looking directly at Adora, who just replied with a roll of her eyes and a fond smile on her lips.

She then noticed Catra was staring at something behind her, turning around to check what it was.

The magnets.

“We never wrote something with them together, did we?”

“Nope.” Catra walked around her, moving to the fridge door. “How about we leave something for Team Losers?”

 

* * *

 

When Glimmer woke up around three a.m. to the sound of snickering coming from the kitchen followed by Catra saying “that was totally a butt”, she wisely chose to just ignore it.

And the next morning, when she and Bow got up to have breakfast, they found “catradora rules” spelled with magnets on the fridge.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> helloooo  
> i'm sorry this update took a little longer to come out  
> life's a bitch sometimes  
> but anywayyy how are you guys? did you enjoy this chapter?  
> let me know in the comments (:


	7. Chapter 7

“I look ridiculous.”

“It’s not _that_ bad.”

“I look like a wedding cake.”

A snort, followed by Catra saying “Then dress number five is also a no. You still have any dresses left?”

Adora pouted. “I don’t know, I’ll try to find something.” She tugged at the hems of the white floral dress she had on, whining as she did so. “Why is this so hard?”

After Bow and Glimmer went home around six p.m. to get ready for Mermista’s party, the two girls were left alone to do the same. Which is why Adora’s room now looked like her closet had thrown up, leaving clothes strewn all over the place. Apparently, picking something to wear was harder than she thought it would be.

“Because _you’re_ making this hard.” At that, Catra received a pillow to her face. “Hey! It’s true. Look, I’m not saying you look bad, cause let’s face it-“ she gestured to Adora’s body with her hand before continuing, “-you’d look great wearing a potato sack. But those dresses, I don’t know, I think they don’t match you.”

Adora’s cheeks turned a light pink at the compliment. “What do you mean?”

“They’re too ordinary, too plain. Try something a little more... daring.” Catra allowed a smirk to appear on her lips as she said the last sentence. “Anyway, I should be getting ready as well.” She got up from where she was sitting on the bed and moved to the door, pausing before walking out. “Surprise me, Adora,” she said, and then she was gone.

Adora groaned.

_Perhaps she should just go naked. But that’d probably be a little too daring._

With a sigh, she turned back to her closet and started searching through it once again.

 

* * *

 

One hour later and Catra was sitting on the couch, wearing a black leather jacket with a white shirt underneath along with black ripped skinny jeans, when she finally heard the door to Adora’s room opening. She turned around, ready to tease the other girl, but any snarky comment she planned on making instantly died on her lips as she caught a glimpse of her roommate.

Adora was wearing a black dress, tight just enough to accentuate her athletic body and stopping slightly above her knees. She had a smug grin on her face, looking at Catra with one eyebrow raised.

“So? Did I surprise you?”

Catra gulped and mutely nodded, eyes wide as she kept staring.

Adora chuckled. “Are we gonna go to the party now or do you plan on staring a little more?”

That prompted Catra to get up and her mind to start functioning again, smirking as she said “Who the hell are you and what did you do to the shy Adora?”

Adora beamed and offered her arm to Catra as they stood by the apartment entrance. “I’m just being more daring.”

Catra only grinned and linked their arms together in response, the two of them walking out the door.

 

* * *

 

After Bow and Glimmer picked the duo up, they all drove to Mermista’s, and soon enough they were standing in front of her house, the sound of loud music coming from inside.

Glimmer rang the doorbell. “I see Team Catradora is looking nice,” she noticed with a smirk.

“And they match!” Bow enthusiastically added. “Glimmer, why we didn’t match?”

Catra and Adora looked at each other, realizing just now that their outfits were indeed matching. Catra threw an arm around the blonde’s shoulders, pulling her closer. “And we didn’t even plan it. That, my friends, is called connection.”

“Something Team Glow seems to be lacking.” Adora said in a teasing tone, sticking her tongue out at her friends.

Glimmer rolled her eyes and was about to reply when the door swung open, revealing Mermista standing there with a red cup on her hand. “Oh, you guys came.” Her eyes then settled on Catra. “Who’s this?”

“Catra, this is Mermista. And Mermista, this is my roommate, Catra.” Adora quickly introduced the two. “You don’t mind her coming, right?”

“That depends. Is she up for drinking games?”

Catra smirked “You bet I am.”

“Then you can stay.” Mermista moved aside, motioning for everyone to enter before closing the door.

The house was full. Every room was filled with people talking and drinking, except for the living room, which seemed to have turned into an improvised dance floor. Catra snorted when she spotted a guy sitting on the floor cradling a bottle of vodka, saying “I’m gonna marry you” to it.  

_Honestly, mood._

“Where are our friends?” Glimmer asked, raising her voice so Mermista could hear her over the music.

“Upstairs. Come on.” She started to guide them in the direction of the stairs, when suddenly Bow stopped.

“Uh, Mermista, what’s that guy doing with a watermelon?”

“BRAD, PUT THAT BACK IN THE FRIDGE RIGHT NOW!” Mermista wandered off, leaving the group alone.

Catra cackled. “Oh, that’s great. Honestly, when you guys said party, I thought it would be just you all getting together to play Pictionary or something.”

Adora warily looked around. “That would probably be safer.”

“Safer? Pictionary with Glimmer? Did you forget about the cup incident?” Bow began moving for the stairs again.

“It was an _accident_! It slipped out of my hand!”

“ _Sure._ ”

 

They all followed Bow until they were on the second floor, walking into a room that had only four other people in it.

“Hey guys!” Bow exclaimed loudly, drawing everyone’s attention to them. “Catra, this is Sea Hawk, Perfuma, Spinnerella and Netossa. Everyone, this is Catra, Adora’s roommate.”

They all waved at her with friendly smiles, except for Sea Hawk, who got up and enveloped her in a hug. “Welcome to our crew!”

Adora laughed as Catra squirmed and tried in vain to push him away, giving up after a few attempts and just mumbling “yeah, yeah, thanks.”

He let her go, a huge smile on his face, before turning to Bow and hugging him just as tightly. “My friend! I missed you!”

Bow grinned and returned the embrace. “I missed you too! What new adventures have you been up to?”

“This will take a while.” Glimmer said while pulling Adora and Catra by their arms to where the three other girls were, sitting beside Perfuma on the couch as Catra and Adora sat next to each other on the floor.

They all engaged in small talk, Catra quickly learning that Perfuma worked as a florist and that Spinnerella and Netossa were a couple, having been together for a long time.

Shortly after, Mermista showed up again with a bottle of tequila, and they all decided to play “Never Have I Ever”.

Which is why they were all now sitting in a circle on the floor, each holding ten fingers up except for Bow, who was the designated driver for the night. (AN: don’t drink and drive, kids)

“Everyone knows the rules?” At their nods, Bow continued. “Alright then. Adora, you start.”

“Uhh... never have I ever gotten a tattoo?”

Catra and Glimmer groaned, both downing a shot of tequila and lowering one of their fingers. Adora glanced at her roommate, surprised. “Really? I knew about Glimmer, but not you.”

“Yep,” Catra said, “got a moon tattooed when I was eighteen.”

“Where?”

“I’ll show you when we get home.” She answered with a wink, chuckling as she saw Adora blush. “Okay, my turn. Never have I ever been skinny dipping.”

Sea Hawk and Mermista drank.

Glimmer glanced at them. “What- Never mind, I don’t wanna know. Never have I ever sent nudes.”

Only Catra drank. They all stared at her.

“What? Want me to send to y’all too?”

 

The game went on, and soon enough Catra had only two fingers up, her speech slurred from eight shots of tequila. Glimmer was also well on the way to getting drunk, having only four fingers up. Shocking absolutely no one, Adora was winning the game, still with six fingers left.

“You’re like, a saint.” Catra slurred while looking at the blonde. “You should have a halo or something.”

Sea Hawk then decided that was a nice moment to start _singing_ Halo. To Mermista.

She was _not_ amused.

“I’m not nearly drunk enough for this.” Mermista sighed, covering his mouth with her hand. “Never have I ever had a crush on a teacher.”

Catra downed another shot, grimacing as she felt the alcohol going down her throat. “Come on, aren’t you guys college kids? I thought that happened all the time.”

Glimmer drank too, turning to Catra with a grin. “It does!”

Bow watched with an amused smile on his face. “Glimmer, you have a crush on almost every woman you see.”

“But they’re all so pretty.” She pouted.

“I get you, Glimmer.” Catra said and high-fived the other girl, the two of them beaming.  

“Is it my turn now?”

“Actually, Glimmer, I think it’s-“ Bow started to say but was interrupted by Glimmer, who apparently hadn’t even heard him in the first place.

“It’s my turn! Never have I ever had a crush on somebody from this circle.”

Everybody drank.

Catra kept her eyes locked on Adora as she downed her last shot. 

Suddenly, Bow spoke up. “Why don’t we make this more interesting?” His eyes were shining with mischief as he continued, “The loser has to give the winner a kiss.”

Adora’s eyes widened. “I don’t think this-“

“I’ll do it.”

She turned to Catra, who was looking at her through drooped eyelids, a smirk on her lips. She gulped. “O-Okay.”

Catra raised an eyebrow. “Unless you don’t want to?”

“I-It’s fine. It’s for the game, right?”

“Yeah,” Catra started to lean in, her hand moving to cradle Adora’s cheek, their lips only a breath apart as she whispered “for the game” before finally closing the distance between them.

Adora’s mind went blank. She couldn’t believe this was happening.

Catra’s lips were soft as they moved against her own, her hand now on the back of her neck guiding Adora even more into the kiss. The blonde couldn’t help the gasp that escaped her as she felt Catra tugging lightly at her hair, or the shudder that went down her spine when the girl ran her tongue over her bottom lip, biting lightly and grazing her teeth against it shortly after.

She was about to pull Catra closer, her whole body screaming for _more,_ when she heard someone clear their throat.

_Oh, shit._

They pulled away, out of breath and with faces flushed, to see everyone staring at them.

Glimmer waved. “Hi, remember us?”

Catra recovered faster and let out a laugh. “Sorry, guys. What should we play now?”

And just like that, everyone fell back into a conversation, trying to come up with suggestions on what game they could play.

Everyone but Catra, who was watching Adora with a lopsided grin, and the girl herself, who was still trying to process the fact that they had just kissed.  

Catra’s voice was raspy, the slurring on her words gone at least for the moment. “Enjoy your prize?”

“Y-Yeah.” She could barely get words out, her lips still tingling from the feeling of Catra’s own on them.

The girl shot her a wink, saying “good” before joining the conversation going on around them.

Adora felt like digging a hole and crawling into it. Or screaming for three hours straight. Maybe both.

But instead, she refilled her glass and downed it in one gulp.   

She was _so_ screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for being so understanding with the delay on the updates guys.  
> i still feel guilty for taking so long tho.  
> anyway, hope this chapter was worth the wait (: let me know what y'all thought of it.  
> also, i was thinking, would you guys like to follow me on tumblr? so we can interact in between updates and stuff? leave your answers on the comments and i'll put my user here if you want  
> see y'all (hopefully) soon <3
> 
> edit: tumblr is catradora-stuff, feel free to follow (:


	8. Chapter 8

Of course, they didn’t talk about it.

After Bow drove them all home, they drunkenly went on with their night routine, with Adora helping Catra with some basic stuff, like brushing her teeth, after witnessing the girl just stare at her toothbrush for nearly five minutes and then deciding to use it as a drumstick. She was convinced the tequila had killed the last two brain cells Catra had left, or at least knocked them out temporally. 

Then they both walked to their rooms – or, more accurately, stumbled – and the kiss was never mentioned. Not even once.  

The next morning wasn’t different.

Adora woke up first, made coffee and thought about at least twelve different possible scenarios that might happen after the events from last night. Five of them ended with her as a stuttering mess, three with Catra not remembering anything, two with the girl laughing it all off as a drunken accident, and just one with them both admitting their feelings for each other. There was also one where she spontaneously burst into flames.

Hey, it could happen, alright?

But when Catra finally showed up in the kitchen, dragging herself to the coffee pot as if she was dying from a terrible disease and caffeine was the only cure, none of the outcomes Adora had imagined came true. Instead, the girl just plopped down on the nearest chair and laid her head on the table while cradling her mug, too exhausted to say anything but a lazily drawn out “hey, Adora”.

Adora chuckled, grabbing a bottle of painkillers along with a glass of water and putting them on the table near Catra. “Hey there.”

Catra gave her a grateful smile, but when the blonde asked how she was feeling, her only reply was a shrug. After that, every attempt Adora made to start a conversation was shot down, either with dismissive gestures or one worded answers.

It was... odd, to say the least. Usually, Catra would jump at any chance she got to make Adora flustered with flirty remarks or sarcastic comments, but now, even when Adora finally summoned the courage to say “last night was fun”, opening a lot of opportunities for her roommate to tease her, all the girl did was give her a curt nod and sip her coffee.

Adora gave her a confused look but opted for not saying anything, leaving Catra alone and going to the living room to watch TV instead.

_Maybe she’s just tired. I’m sure she’ll be back to her normal self after the coffee kicks in._

Only... that’s not what happened. Catra barely said a word to her the entire day, and even when she did, it was just to say goodbye before leaving for work in the afternoon, muttering something about Scorpia needing her there earlier.

Adora started to grow worried.

Was it something she had done? Was Catra weirded out by the kiss?

God, was she a bad kisser?

She paced around, thinking what could have happened to make Catra act like this and how could she fix it. Maybe she should just give her some space.

Yeah, this could work.

She would give Catra time to process whatever was bothering her, and whenever she felt like she was ready, she could come talk to Adora and their relationship would be back to normal.

The blonde settled on the couch again with a content smile on her face, pleased with the solution she had found. There was no reason to freak out, and she was willing to bet that by next morning everything would be perfectly alright again.

 

* * *

 

It was not even eight in the morning and everything had already gone absolutely wrong.

There was, in fact, a reason to freak out.

Which was exactly what Adora was doing right now as she gaped at a redheaded woman, barely covered by a thin sheet wrapped around her body, drinking a glass of orange juice in the middle of her kitchen.

The woman finally seemed to notice Adora standing there, the surprise in her eyes only lasting for a split second, before her lips morphed into a friendly grin. “Hi! I’m Casey,” she said, extending her hand to the blonde. “You’re Catra’s roommate, right?”

In that moment, Adora was sure of two things: First, her jaw would remain forever on the floor. And second, it must be illegal to smile like that before ten a.m.

When she noticed the grin on the girl’s face beginning to waver as the blonde just stared at the outstretched hand in front of her, her brain forced its way through the shock and kicked into gear again, functioning just enough to remember basic manners.

Adora forced a smile, visibly strained even if you were looking from a mile away, and greeted the girl, shaking her hand. “Y-yeah. I’m Adora.”

The sheet around the redhead’s body began to slip, and she quickly removed her hand from Adora’s grip to hold onto it, giggling as she did so. “Oops.”

Adora had never wanted to physically throw someone out of her apartment as bad as she did in that moment. She just wasn’t sure if she wanted to throw the girl out for showing up half naked and giggly in her kitchen like it’s nothing, or Catra, for even putting her in that situation to begin with.

Her brain conjured up the image of her barging into Catra’s room, dragging her kicking and screaming from her bed, and it amused her for half a second, until she remembered why Casey was here in the first place.

Catra _brought_ her here. And they...

She glanced at the girl’s body and her lack of clothing, feeling her heart shatter in her chest.

There went all the hope she had of having anything with Catra. Along with her last carton of orange juice.

The redhead cleared her throat, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “Uhm,” she giggled. Adora felt her eye twitch. “I’m sorry we had to meet like this.“ She gestured with her free hand to her body, her cheeks coloring with a light pink. “I just didn’t think anyone would be up this early.”

“I... have class,” was all Adora said. The awkwardness of the situation, her heart aching in her chest, and, of course, adding juice to her grocery shopping list, was all just too much for her mind to process at once. 

Just then, she heard the door to Catra’s bedroom opening, and the girl herself walked into the kitchen a few seconds later, eyes widening as she took in the scene. Then, the look of surprise on her face changed to one of amusement, a smirk appearing on her lips.

“Hey, Adora. I see you’ve met...” she looked at the redhead, who was still smiling as if this was all normal. “...Cassidy?”

“Casey,” the girl corrected.

“Right. Casey.”

The three of them stood in uncomfortable silence until Casey finally had enough and spoke up again, “I, uh, I think I’ll get my clothes and get going. It was nice meeting you two.”

She then disappeared down the hall, leaving the two girls to their staring contest.

When they finally heard the apartment’s front door opening and closing shortly after, all hell broke loose.

Catra’s amused expression quickly changed to an apologetic one, and she was about to say something when-

“What the fuck, Catra?” Adora paced around the room and Catra watched, raising one eyebrow, the apology she was about to say dying on her lips. Interruption, mistake number one.

“What?”

“How could you do that? Bringing a random girl to the apartment without even warning me?” Adora raised her voice. Mistake number two. “And I have to find out by finding her drinking orange juice, naked, in the middle of my kitchen?!”

“Hey, I live here too.” Catra stood up, feeling anger rising in her chest. “You bring _your_ friends here without telling me as well, and you don’t see me complaining, do you, Adora?”

 “That’s different! They’re my friends, Catra, not some girl I met last night!” Adora moved closer to Catra, getting into her personal space, a clear sign of a challenge. That was the third strike for Catra.

She raised her chin in defiance, mimicking Adora’s movement and reducing even more the distance between them. Staring Adora right in the eyes, she said “Why the fuck are you even so bothered by this, huh, Adora? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

The blonde gulped. Even though she was taller than Catra, in that moment she felt like the smaller one. Her brain screamed for her to say that the reason why she was upset was because she liked Catra, that she knew she should have said something sooner, that she wanted to be with the other girl. Instead, she just looked down and shook her head.

Catra seemed to deflate, her anger evaporating as she let out a tired sigh. “Yeah, that’s what I thought.” She sounded almost... disappointed.

She exited the kitchen without another word.

 

* * *

 

Their routine was now, well, nonexistent. 

No notes, no magnets messages, no full coffee pot left for the other. Nothing.

There wasn’t even a greeting on the rare moments they saw each other in between Adora’s class hours and Catra’s odd work schedule. Adora felt as if all the progress they had made went down the drain in the span of two days.

Tired of seeing their friend moping around the entire week, Bow and Glimmer took the blonde out for ice cream as an attempt to cheer her up, but, apparently, their plan wasn’t working.

They were all sitting at a table together, the duo happily eating their ice cream, while Adora just played around with hers with a frown on her face. Bow stared at her, mortified.

“Adora, I know you’re sad, but wasting ice cream is, like, an international crime.”

Adora sighed, taking a spoonful of the dessert and swallowing it before saying “Sorry, guys. I know I’m bringing the mood down.”

Bow shot her a sympathetic look, taking her hand that rested on the table and giving it a light squeeze. “You don’t have to apologize for that.”

“We’re here for you, Adora. Talk to us,” Glimmer added in a soft tone.

Adora took a steadying breath, trying to prepare herself for the conversation that was about to come. “I know I had no right to feel jealous about that girl or react the way I did. We... aren’t together.” She sniffled, feeling her eyes starting to water but refusing to let the tears fall. “I guess I just didn’t expect seeing her with someone else would hurt so bad.”

“Adora, we know it hurts. But,” Bow started drawing circles on her hand with his thumb as he spoke, “you didn’t exactly tell Catra that you felt something for her.”

“But I- she- we flirted and I got all nervous around her, and, and-“

“And she did the same, Adora, but neither of you ever openly admitted you had feelings for the other.” Glimmer argued. “Did you even talk about the kiss after Mermista’s party?”

“...No.”

Glimmer resisted the urge to face-palm, getting up and hugging Adora instead. “Look, we love you, but sometimes you’re an oblivious idiot. And from what little we know about Catra, she seems to be exactly the same. You were both waiting for the other to act.”

“And when you didn’t, she probably assumed you were not interested and did something impulsive, hence orange-juice-incident.”

“Is that what we’re calling it now?” Glimmer asked as Adora processed what she had just heard, staring into space as her friends continued to discuss what they should call the most awkward morning of her life.

Suddenly, she said “Oh my god,” realization finally dawning on her.

Glimmer and Bow stopped, looking at her.

“Oh my god. I can’t believe I’m such an idiot! Guys, help me, what do I do? Do I tell her now? Or did I ruin everything forever? Or-“

“Hey, hey, slow down.” Bow got up, hugging Adora as well. “Right now, I think it’s best you give her a few more days. Let things cool off. But after that, you guys definitely should talk about what’s going on between you two.”

“And no backing down this time,” Glimmer said.

“But what if her feelings for me are gone?”

Glimmer snickered. “I doubt it.”

Bow chuckled. “Same. But no matter what happens, we’re here for you.”

Adora smiled for what felt like the first time since her fight with Catra, her heart feeling a little lighter. She hugged her friends back, squeezing them tightly. “Thanks, guys.”

 

* * *

 

One night, three days after her talk with her best friends, Adora was sitting on the couch debating whether or not she should talk to Catra tonight. That is, if the girl came home before she fell asleep, something that was becoming less and less frequent – Catra only seemed to come home in the middle of the night now, and Adora wasn’t sure if she was doing so just to avoid her. It wasn’t a pleasant thought, so she tried her best to not dwell on it.

Still, it was happening a little too much to be just a coincidence.

Just as her mind was starting to travel down a path she knew would make her sad, she heard the sound of keys jingling by the front door. And a few seconds later, Catra walked in.

Adora’s eyes widened.

The collar of Catra’s shirt was stained with blood, and she had a hand holding her nose. Her left eye was also slightly swollen, a purple bruise starting to form around it.

Adora was by her side before she had even closed the door. “Catra, what happened? Are you okay? Who did this?”

Catra lowered her hand, which allowed Adora to see her nose was bruised and was the cause of the blood on her shirt. “Bar fight.” A small smirk appeared on her lips, “I’m fine, you should see the other guys.”

If Adora wasn’t so worried, she would have laughed at Catra trying to act tough even with the state her face was in. But right now, her priority was to make sure the other girl was okay. She was about to take Catra’s hand to lead her to the couch, but she pulled it away.

Adora shot her a look. “Seriously? Now? You can be mad at me all you want later, but for now let me help you, Catra.”

Catra scowled, but didn’t withdraw her hand when Adora reached for it again, allowing the blonde to lead her to the living room.

“Stay here, okay? I’ll be right back.” Adora quickly went to the bathroom as Catra sat down on the couch, and only a few moments later she was back with a damp towel on her hand. She kneeled down in front of Catra, who eyed her warily.

“You think it’s broken?”

“Probably not,” Catra said, “it’s not crooked or anything. The guy didn’t even know how to throw a punch.”

“That’s... good?” She lifted the towel to Catra’s nose, and was about to start cleaning the blood when she paused. “This might hurt a bit.”

“I’m not a baby, Adora.”

“Alright, then.” She gently dabbed the towel against Catra’s nose, immediately causing her to hiss. Adora winced, muttering “sorry, sorry” and took Catra’s hand with her free one. She then continued to wipe the blood, and Catra remained quiet for the rest of the process, squeezing her hand every time she felt pain.

When it was done, their hands remained intertwined.

Adora inspected her work, and was pleased to see that now, with most of the blood gone, the bruise didn’t look so serious. Catra was right, her nose didn’t look broken, and it would probably be healed in a few days.

Adora gave her hand one last squeeze before letting go and standing up. “I’m gonna get an ice pack for your eye and some pain killers, alright?”

Catra nodded, her gaze still focused on the blonde even as she left for the kitchen. Adora noticed that the anger and wariness in her eyes had been replaced with something less guarded, almost soft.

She came back a few minutes later, balancing a glass of water, an ice pack and pain killers on her hands, managing to reach the couch without any accidents.

Catra downed a pill with the water and then held the ice pack to her eye, settling back on the couch with a content sigh. She looked at Adora, muttering a “thanks” with a small smile on her lips.

“No problem,” Adora said as she sat down beside her. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yeah.” Suddenly, Catra frowned. But it wasn’t the angry frown Adora had been seeing on her face for the past week. This one looked like it had appeared out of sadness instead of anger. “Look, Adora, I know I shouldn’t have brought that girl here without telling you. Or talked to you the way I did. I’m-“ She let out a sigh, “I’m sorry.”

She then turned around slightly so she could sit facing Adora, allowing a playful smile to appear.  “I don’t know how you can be so kind to me even after I put you through all this crap.”

Adora took Catra’s hand in both of hers, staring into her eyes. She took a deep breath, mentally counting to three before she finally said, “Because I like you, you idiot. I always have.”

Catra’s eyes widened. She even dropped the ice pack to the couch.

“That’s why I was so angry when I saw that girl here. I thought something was gonna happen between us after that kiss but then she showed up in the kitchen and-“

“Adora-“

“I was pretty sure my chances with you were over and I got jealous and then I got sad-“

“Adora-“

“God, Catra, I thought you knew I liked you and I know I’m an idiot for not telling you sooner but I’m telling you now but I’ll understand if you don’t want anything-“

Catra pulled Adora closer by her shirt, clashing their lips together.

The blonde gasped in surprise, but soon after melted into the kiss, eyes fluttering shut. It was clumsy at first. Desperate, as if they were trying to make up for lost time. But, just as she thought Catra would deepen the kiss, it became softer. Gentler.

Her mind immediately flashed to the look Catra gave her before she left to the kitchen.

Vulnerable.

Catra moved her lips against hers slowly, as if making sure everything they should have told to each other all along was made clear without the need for words. Her hands found their way inside Adora’s shirt, caressing along her waist and ribs in an almost reverent manner.

They pulled away, both breathing heavily. Catra rested her forehead against Adora’s and whispered “I like you too, idiot,” before interlacing their fingers together again.

“The only reason why I even slept with that girl,” Catra began in between breaths, “was because I thought you weren’t interested in me. I wanted to move on, because I was afraid if I let myself get more attached to you, I'd only get hurt.”

“But-“

Catra chuckled, caressing Adora’s knuckles. “Let me finish. When you said nothing about the kiss, it thought it hadn’t meant anything to you. So, instead of talking to you, I decided to get drunk at the bar because I make really terrible decisions.”

Adora giggled, pecking her cheek. “We both do.”

Catra tried her best to hide a smile, but failed miserably. “Yeah, yeah. Anyway, she showed up when I had already taken, like, ten shots of tequila, and one thing led to another. I was going to explain this to you the second she left but then we both got angry and...” she trailed off, face growing serious again. “I really am sorry.”

Adora removed her hand from Catra’s hold, lifting it to the girl’s face and caressing her cheek with her thumb. “I’m sorry too, I should just have been open with you from the beginning.”

“We really suck at communication, don’t we?” Catra smirked.

Adora grinned, “Yeah, we do. But... we can learn together, right?”

Catra kissed her softly again before answering.

“We can.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ........hello. how are you?  
> this chapter is my baby. please treat it nicely.  
> i hope you guys enjoyed it, and thanks once again for all the support this story is receiving.  
> feel free to message me on tumblr to talk about it or just so we can interact. i like talking to you guys.  
> as always, kudos and comments are v appreciated  
> see y'all on the next update <3


	9. Chapter 9

**To:** best friend squad!!!!!

 

 **Adora (3:14 p.m.):** _EMERGENCY MEETING!!!!!_

 **Adora (3:14 p.m.):** _NOW!!!!!_

 **Bow (3:26 p.m.):** _Glimmer what did you do?_

 **Glimmer (3:30 p.m.):** _NOTHING_

 **Glimmer (3:30 p.m.):** _i guess_

 **Glimmer (3:31 p.m.):** _be there soon adora_

* * *

 

“So, you’re telling us you and Catra got together, like, one week ago, and now she asked you out on a date?” Glimmer asked, sitting beside Bow on Adora’s bed, with the boy still squealing over the fact that Catra and Adora had finally kissed, and the blonde frantically pacing around in front of them.

“We’re not exactly... together, but yeah, she asked me out.”

“And you didn’t tell us about this sooner because...?”

 

_Catra’s lips moved down her neck, teeth biting lightly on her flesh as nails dragged down her back, making Adora shudder and arch into Catra. The girl stopped, that infuriating smirk already on her face._

_“Enjoying yourself?”_

_Her voice dripped with smugness._

_Adora felt like slapping her. Instead, she did something better._

_Her hands found their way into Catra’s hair, clutching it and clashing their lips back together as Catra moaned into her mouth._

“Adora? You haven’t said anything for the past two minutes.”

Bow had finally stopped squealing and was staring at his friend – who was currently completely still and staring off into space – with confusion evident on his features.

Adora finally seemed to return from whatever universe her mind had wandered to at her friend’s voice, cheeks turning red at an alarmingly fast rate.

Glimmer raised an eyebrow and crossed her arms, still expecting an answer to her question. “So?”

“I’ve been... busy. I-I mean, we were still figuring some things out, and I was gonna tell you soon I swear-“

Glimmer scoffed. “Figuring what out? Who’s gonna be on top?”

The blonde’s face was now doing its best impression of a tomato.

Bow immediately moved to cover his friend’s mouth, an apologetic smile on his lips. “It’s okay, Adora! We understand you needed some time.”

Glimmer rolled her eyes and shoved the boy away, looking back at Adora. “Anyway, what was the emergency about?”

Adora cleared her throat before speaking, trying to regain her composure. “I have no idea what to wear! How should I even act with her? Oh my God, what if I mess up-“

Glimmer raised a hand, stopping her friend’s rambling. “Adora, you two have been acting like a couple even before you were one.”

Bow nodded, speaking up to reassure his friend as well. “Plus, I’m pretty sure she won’t care about what you’re wearing. She’s probably just happy to be going out with you.”

Adora groaned, lying face down on her bed and muttering something into her pillow.

“Say that again, please.” Bow said, gently prying the pillow away from Adora.

“I said,” the blonde rolled around, now staring at her ceiling, “I’m screwed.”

“No, you aren’t!” The boy stated dramatically, getting up from the bed and opening Adora’s wardrobe. “Because the best friend squad is here!”

“I’m not wearing a crop top.”

Bow deflated, crossing his arms and pouting.

Glimmer laughed, moving to stand beside her friend. “We’ll look into other options. The point is: we will help you make sure this date goes perfect!”

Bow glanced at her, a questioning look in his eyes. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

Glimmer nodded enthusiastically, eyes practically shining.

They both shouted in perfect unison. “It’s makeover time!”

 

* * *

 

“Okay, so you promise to tell us every little detail as soon as you get home, right?”

Adora, now examining the red dress her friends had picked out for her, nodded distractedly.

“And you promise to wear the make-up I gave you?  And to _not_ wear a ponytail?”

Once again, Adora just nodded, mind seemingly elsewhere. Glimmer, noticing this, was about to call her friend out and whine about how she wasn’t paying attention to them, when a better idea came to her.

Smirking, she said, “And you promise to have lots of hot make out sessions with Catra?”

Another nod.

Then, the blonde’s eyes widening as she realized what she had just agreed to. “No! I-I mean, maybe, but that’s not something I can plan, it should happen, IF it happens, naturally and-“

The pair burst out laughing.

Adora groaned, glaring at them in annoyance. “I hate you.”

They just grinned, wrapping their arms around her. “Love you too.”

 

* * *

 

“How do you think their date is going?” Bow asked, sitting on a chair at Glimmer’s apartment, with the girl lying on the couch beside him.

“No idea.” She said, grabbing a handful of popcorn from the bowl she was holding and eating it before continuing, “They’re probably being their usual gay dumbass selves.”

“Can you believe they’re finally going out?”

“Honestly, I’m more surprised they took this long. It was obvious they were into each other.”

Suddenly, both of their phones made a notification sound, alerting them that there was a new message. Bow unlocked his phone first, a puzzled look on his face as he read the message.

“It’s Adora. She’s telling us to come over.”

“What? Isn’t she on her date?” Glimmer sat up, opening their group chat on her phone and reading the message as well.

“You think something went wrong?” Bow asked, worry starting to make its way into his features.

“I don’t know,” Glimmer got up, already moving to the door, her friend right behind her, “but we better get going.”

 

When they approached the door to the girls’ apartment, they heard noise – that sounded suspiciously like yelling – coming from inside. Glimmer hesitated before opening the door, putting her ear against it and trying to hear better.

“What’s happening?” Bow whispered to his friend.

“I don’t know, it sounds like they’re fighting.” Glimmer answered, finally grabbing the door handle and looking at Bow. At the boy’s nod, she opened the door.

They walked into the apartment, finding both Catra and Adora sitting on the floor. As it turns out, Glimmer was right – they were indeed fighting. Only, it was definitely _not_ how they imagined. 

There were their friends, suit and dress still on, and each with a controller in their hands.

“Don’t you dare kill me on our first date, you asshole. Where are you?”

Catra’s laugh rang through the apartment, followed by the sound of a gunshot and Adora yelling “Fuck!”

“Later, babe.”

“I can’t believe you did this to me! I didn’t even see you!” The blonde said, putting the controller on the coffee table and scowling.

Catra attempted to peck her cheek, but Adora held her at arm’s distance, which only made the dark haired girl laugh even harder. “Told you to play with a sniper.”

Bow and Glimmer were standing still, both extremely confused as they took in the whole scene. Finally, Glimmer cleared her throat, drawing the girls’ attention to them.

“What, if I may ask, the hell is going on here?”

Catra and Adora just glanced at each other, shrugging. It was Adora who decided to answer the question. “We’re having our first date.”

“Here? What happened to going out?” Bow asked, still trying to figure out what was happening.

“I kicked a guy’s ass. Literally.” Catra replied casually, inspecting her nails as she did so, unaware to the two wide-eyed gazes on her. The pair, noticing they weren’t getting any further explanation, turned to Adora.

She shrugged again, “And I let her.”

Glimmer rubbed her temples, surprise now giving space to annoyance. “Can someone please explain what’s happening? In a way that makes sense?”

“Fine, fine. So,” Catra turned off the videogame, moving from the floor to sit on the couch. “we were at the restaurant, all ready to enjoy our date, when this waiter comes to our table and starts making all kinds of stupid comments. Like asking who’s the guy in the relationship.” The girl rolled her eyes, already feeling her anger rise up again just by telling the story.

“So you kicked him?” Glimmer asked, turning to Adora, “And you just let her kick him?”

Adora sighed, “I was trying to calm Catra down. Until, well, the guy asked if we wanted him to... uh, participate in our after dinner activities.”

“Meaning he asked if we wanted to have a threesome.” Catra clarified, “So I kicked his ass.”

“Oh.” Bow said, scratching the back of his neck. “I don’t usually support violence, but in that case, well done, Catra.”

Glimmer grinned, holding her hand up for a high-five with Catra, which the other girl promptly complied. “Seems like violence sometimes is the solution.”

Catra grinned, and Adora rolled her eyes fondly. “Don’t encourage her.”

The dark haired girl blew a kiss at her, “You know that’s a hell of a first date story.”

“Still,” Adora sat on the couch, wrapping her arm around Catra’s mid section while resting her head on her shoulder. “I wish that jerk hadn’t ruined our date.”

Catra kissed her head, interlacing their fingers together. “Who says he ruined anything? In fact,” she turned to Glimmer and Bow, now squeezed together to fit in a chair, with a smirk on her lips, “I know the perfect place for us all to go.”

  

* * *

**To:** Scorpia

 

 **Catra (7:59 p.m.):** _how’s the bar?_

 **Scorpia (8:05 p.m.):** _Fine! How’s your date?_

 **Catra (8:08 p.m.):** _great. so, no drunken idiots today?_

 **Scorpia (8:13 p.m.):** _No! It’s actually pretty calm over here. Why?_

 **Catra (8:15 p.m.):** _perfect_

 **Scorpia (8:18 p.m.):** _Why?_

 **Scorpia (8:20 p.m.):** _Catra??_

 **Scorpia (8:23 p.m.):** _Hello??_

* * *

 

The door to the bar swung open, and soon after Catra and her friends walked in. She moved through the place with ease, considering it was almost her second home by now, and they all followed her. She approached the bar counter, immediately drawing the bartender’s attention.

“The fuck you’re doing here on your day off?” Lonnie asked, filling a glass with whiskey and sliding it to a customer. “You really love us that much, huh?”

Catra smirked, sitting on one of the stools and motioning for everyone to do the same. “Nice to see you too, Lonnie.”

Lonnie looked at the group, and just by the way they were looking around, sitting up straight on the stools, she could already tell they weren’t exactly the type of people that went to bars frequently. “So,” she put down four glasses for them, “you brought your nerds?”

Catra flicked Lonnie’s forehead, making the girl snarl. “Be nice. These are Glimmer, Bow and Adora.” She said, pointing to each of her friends as she said their names.

The bartender raised an eyebrow. “Adora, huh?”

“Embarrass me and I’ll make sure to tell Kyle you’re into him.”

“Ew.” Lonnie held her hands up in surrender. “You win, you win. Anyway, what are you all drinking?”

Catra’s smirk was back. “I’ll have whiskey, as usual, but Adora here is a lightweight so maybe bring her a margarita or something.”

Adora leaned forward on the counter, her smug smile almost mimicking Catra’s smirk. “Whiskey is fine for me too.” Then, her voice dropped lower, coming out almost as whisper. “And maybe later you can tell me all about Catra’s embarrassing stories.”

Lonnie looked taken aback for a second, but then her lips turned into a grin as she looked at Catra, filling her and Adora’s glasses with whiskey. “I like her, Catra.”

Catra groaned, already bringing her glass to her lips and taking a gulp from it. “I should have known this would be a bad idea. I put two people who love to get on my nerves together.”

Adora playfully pushed her shoulder and shot her a wink. “You know you love it.”

Lonnie, still grinning, left the two to their banter and focused on the other half of the group. “What about you two? What can I get you?”

“Oh, I’m not drinking.” Bow said, holding up his car keys. “Designated driver, as always. So, just water, please.”

“I’m also not drinking.” Glimmer motioned with her head in the direction of Catra and Adora, now talking in hushed tones and with their lips nearly touching. “Kinda wanna stay sober and see how that will play out.”

“Understandable,” Lonnie agreed with a chuckle. Then, she turned back to the couple, an amused smile on her lips.

 _Catra is_ so _whipped._

“Hey, lovebirds!” She called out to get their attention, deciding to interrupt before they started making out. “Catra, I’m gonna call Scorpia and Entrapta, alright? They’re in the back,” she motioned with her thumb to an area on the far side of the bar, with only one door leading into it. “And they probably wanna see you.”

Catra nodded, watching her friend leave the counter and then turning around to face Adora again. “So,” she bit her lip, hesitating before continuing, “Scorpia and Entrapta... I’ve told you about them before, right?”

The blonde nodded, taking Catra’s hand and playing with her fingers to try to relieve some of the tension she could feel coming from the other girl. And also just because she could.  Because they were going out.

 _Yeah_ , Adora thought, _still can’t believe this is actually happening._

“They’re probably, well, the closest thing I have to a family. They mean a lot to me.” She watched Adora’s pale hand against her more tanned one, giving the girl a gentle smile.

Adora knew what that smile meant. She knew Catra had trouble expressing what she felt, so, by now, she had learned to understand her without the need for words. Catra wasn’t exactly an open book, or even an easy one to read at that, but one that captivated you even more with every single bit of story you deciphered.

_You mean a lot to me too._

That’s what Catra wanted to say.

Adora pressed her lips against Catra’s, both moving together slowly, the blonde making sure the other understood just how much she meant to her as well. There was no rush needed for them anymore, no unresolved feelings or misunderstood situations.

It was just them.

So new and so familiar at the same time.

Catra pulled away, a little breathlessly, and squeezed Adora’s hand.

The blonde smiled. “So, I’m already meeting the family, huh?”

Catra chuckled, giving her one last quick kiss. “Shut up.”

Just then, Lonnie returned, with Scorpia and Entrapta close behind. They both grinned and waved enthusiastically when they spotted Catra, who just greeted them with “sup” when they approached her.

“Kitty!” Scorpia hugged her tightly, only to be pushed away a few seconds later. She pouted. “Aw, come on kitty, I missed you.”

“You saw me yesterday.” Catra deadpanned.

“Twenty four hours is a long time.” Scorpia squeezed her again despite her protests, letting go after a while with a satisfied smile.

Entrapta moved closer to Adora, inspecting her face. “You haven’t taken your eyes away from Catra for the entire two minutes and forty two seconds we’ve been here. Plus, you seem to be looking at her in a caring way, with, I presume, fondness at her and Scorpia’s antics.” She gave the girl’s cheeks a poke. “And now you’re turning red. So, I assume you’re Adora. Hi!” Entrapta waved cheerfully, as if this whole thing was normal. “I’m Entrapta.”

Catra dragged her hand down her face, sighing in exasperation. She got up, grabbing both Scorpia and Entrapta by their hands and pulling them to her side. “Adora-“

“Aw, kitty, you never hold my hand.”

Catra gritted her teeth, but continued anyway. “Adora, meet Scorpia and Entrapta. And I apologize in advance.”

“Apologize for wha-“

The blonde didn’t even get to finish her question. The second Catra let go of their hands, the two women surrounded Adora, bombarding her with questions.

“You’re Adora? How did you get Catra to like you?”

“Did you know Catra talks about you a lot?”

“How do you survive when she’s angry?”

“Has she ever been mean to you?”

“Can I study your brain to check if you produce a chemical substance made specifically to calm angry people, like Catra, down?”

Catra watched with amusement – and slightly annoyance – as her friends interrogated Adora. She looked at the blonde, expecting to see confusion and, honestly, a little bit of despair. But the girl just took a deep breath and put on a friendly smile, proceeding to try her best to answer all of the questions.

Soon, the three of them were all engaged in a conversation – sure, made mostly of teasing remarks about her, but a conversation nonetheless. As if they hadn’t just met five minutes ago.

Adora was definitely... something else.

“They got along well, huh?” It was Glimmer, who was also watching the whole scene with Bow.

Catra just nodded, unable to stop the smile that appeared on her face.

“Must mean a lot to you. Cause, y’know, it means a lot to Adora that we... tolerate-“ At that, Catra let out a snort. “-each other.”

Catra sat beside her, raising her glass for Glimmer and Bow. “I think we’re okay.”

Glimmer chuckled, the three of them clinking their glasses together. “Yeah, I think we are.”

 

* * *

 

Soon enough, everyone – even Lonnie – was talking, all sharing jokes and funny stories, and overall having a really good time. Entrapta told Bow about her interest in science and creating inventions, a subject which the boy was fascinated with. Lonnie made sure to share her hatred for math, much to Entrapta’s dismay, and quickly earned Glimmer’s agreement. Adora and Scorpia shared their theories about how Catra was secretly really sweet, and the girl complained and threatened them the whole time.

Time flew by, and the bar slowly became emptier as the hours passed.

At one point, Catra and Scorpia moved away from the group to begin to close the bar, Lonnie doing the same but to start to do the cleaning.

They were in the middle of organizing some chairs when Scorpia spoke up.

“She’s great, Catra. Hold on to that one.” She had a friendly grin on her lips, looking at Adora and her friends listening intently to whatever Entrapta was rambling about, and gave her friend a little pat on the back.

Catra scowled and rolled her eyes, about to tell Scorpia to stop being so sappy, when she glanced at the blonde, scowl instantly melting away and being replaced by a soft smile. Then, Adora met her eyes and smiled back, giving her a short wave before returning her focus to the conversation.

“Yeah,” Catra finally said, eyes still settled on Adora, “I think I will.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> no, i'm not dead. and neither is this fic.  
> anyway, hope you guys enjoyed this chapter, and please leave a comment if you did so.  
> thanks for being so patient and waiting for my updates,  
> hope the wait was worth it.  
> see ya on the next chapter, but in the meantime, you can come talk to me on my tumblr, catradora-stuff  
> love y'all


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning: rating's there for a reason. with that being said, please enjoy the chapter.

“I can’t believe spring break is finally here!” Bow exclaimed enthusiastically while strolling through campus, Adora and Glimmer walking in step with him.

“I can’t believe I survived all my exams.” Glimmer said in a tired tone, taking a sip from the coffee she was holding. “I swear, if I had one more group project, I’d kill everyone in my group and then myself.”

Adora laughed, “Group projects are not _that_ bad.” She looked up at the blue sky, allowing a smile to appear. “But yeah, I’m glad to finally have a week to relax.”

“Speaking of _relaxing_ ,” Bow wiggled his eyebrows, smirking as he did so, “have any plans with your girlfriend?”

Adora blushed, “She’s _not_ my girlfriend. And no, we didn’t make any plans yet.”

“Come on,” Glimmer rolled her eyes in exasperation, “you two have been going out for, what, a month already?”

“Three weeks and two days.”

Glimmer raised an eyebrow, a smug smile on her lips.

“Not that I’m keeping count! I-I mean, I am, but only because I thought it’d be nice to do something on our one month anniversary- not that we have an anniversary! Cause she’s not my girlfriend-”

Glimmer raised her free hand, making the blonde pause. “You’re rambling, Adora."

Adora closed her eyes, taking a deep breath to calm herself before opening them again. “We agreed to keep everything light, take things slow, so neither of us feels pressured.”

“And this includes not calling each other girlfriend?” Bow asked, a puzzled look on his face.

“Yep.”

Glimmer stared at her for a second, trying to figure out her friend, eventually just giving up and shaking her head. “You guys are so weird. Anyway, remember my aunt Casta? The one who lives at the beach?” At her friends’ nods, she continued, “she invited all of us to spend a few days with her! And my mom let us borrow her car so we can drive there! You can even bring your girl- I mean, your _gal pal_ Catra, Adora.”

Bow was practically beaming, eyes shining with glee. “Does that mean what I think it means?”

Glimmer nodded, expression matching her friend’s.

The three of them exclaimed at the same time, unable to contain their excitement. “Road trip!”

 

* * *

 

“Road trip?” Catra asked, lazily playing with Adora’s fingers as they cuddled on the couch.

“Y-yeah, but it’s okay if you don’t want to come. I’ll understand.” Adora raised her head from where it rested on the other girl’s shoulder to look at her, trying to guess what she was thinking.

Catra was quiet for a few seconds, seemingly considering the ups and downs of her choices, until she finally turned to the blonde, a small smile on her face. “I’ll go.”

Adora, apparently, was not expecting that answer if the look of surprise on her face was anything to go by. “Really? Are you sure? Cause I promise I won’t be mad if you don’t want to come- it’d be fun if you did, but I don’t want you to feel like you have to-“

She was silenced by Catra’s lips on hers, making her eyes flutter shut immediately. She felt Catra’s teeth grazing down on her bottom lip, pulling it slightly and making her gasp. Just as she thought the kiss was about to deepen, Catra pulled away, but remained close enough that she could feel her breath as she spoke. “I want to go, Adora.”

The blonde’s brain was still recovering from the kiss, her lips tingling as she mumbled a breathless “okay”, making Catra chuckle and close the distance between them again.

Adora pulled her closer by the collar of her shirt, making Catra run a hand through her hair and tug at it lightly in response. The blonde gasped again, and Catra took that opening to slide her tongue into her mouth, dragging her hands down to Adora’s waist, moving her to straddle her lap.

She slid her hands to Adora’s backside, giving it a squeeze, making her whimper into her mouth. Catra pulled away for a second, and Adora whined. “Adora,” she asked breathless, leaving kisses on the blonde’s neck and jaw in between her words, “are you sure?”

“Yes,” Adora moaned as she felt Catra’s teeth biting down on her neck, “ _Please_.” 

Catra was more than happy to comply, her hands going to the front of Adora’s jeans, ready to unbutton them, when the two of them were startled apart by a phone ringing.

Adora stood there, eyes wide and cheeks flushed, still straddling Catra’s lap as said girl glared at her phone as if it had insulted her entire family.

Catra read the caller’s name on the screen, groaning when she saw it was Scorpia, mouthing a quick “sorry” to Adora before answering it.

More than a little frustrated, she did her best to not let her annoyance creep into her tone. “What?”

“Kitty, what’s wrong?” Scorpia’s concerned voice instantly asked.

_Well, apparently, she had failed._

Catra took a deep breath, trying to calm herself as best as she could, but the fact that Adora was still on her lap, looking at her with red lips and messy hair, was not helping. She nearly whimpered at the sight, but was able to hold it in and just motion with her hand for the blonde to sit back on the couch.

After that, she managed to regain at least some of her composure, letting out a sigh before returning her attention to Scorpia’s question. “Nothing, nothing. So, why did you call?”

“I was wondering if you could come to the bar. I texted you but you weren’t replying, so I decided to give you a call.”

Catra rubbed her temples, shooting Adora an apologetic look. “Yeah, sure, I’ll go.”

“Thanks, Kitty, you’re the best! See you soon!” She hung up, putting her phone in her pocket and glancing at Adora. 

“You leaving?” Adora asked, her cheeks now back to their normal color.

Catra nodded. “I’m sorry,” she took Adora’s hand, running her thumb across her knuckles, “Scorpia needs me.”

Despite her words, she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t stay if Adora asked her to.

Adora pulled her closer again. “It’s okay,” she gave her a quick kiss and smiled, “we have all the time in the world.”

Catra rolled her eyes, but couldn’t help the fond smile that appeared on her lips. “Sap.” She got up from the couch, blowing one last kiss to Adora on her way to the door, the blonde waving her goodbye.

 

* * *

 

“Adora and I almost...” Catra trailed off, keeping an eye on Lonnie in case she needed her help bartending again, since the bar was getting crowded.

Scorpia paused her reading on some files about their suppliers, glancing at her friend with a confused look on her face. “Almost what?”

Catra remained silent, watching as Scorpia’s expression changed from one of confusion, to understanding, to surprise.

“ _Oh_.”

“Yeah.”

“But what’s wrong? I thought she was your girlfriend. Wouldn’t you two do... it... at some point?”

Catra almost laughed at Scorpia’s wording. Sometimes, she felt like she was best friends with a seven year old. “We agreed to take things slow. We’re not even calling each other girlfriend.”

“Love shouldn’t be slowed down!” Scorpia declared, determination on her features. “You should allow it to flow freely!”

Catra resisted the urge to groan. “This is not a fairy tale, Scorpia, this is real life. If we moved too fast, we’d just end up freaking each other out at some point.”

“Are you sure that’s the reason why you want to take things slow?” Her tone softened, as if she knew Catra wouldn’t like her next words. “You sure it doesn’t have anything to do with you being... afraid of getting attached?”  
  
“What? No!” Catra scowled, her entire demeanor becoming defensive, “this is just how things work, Scorpia, I’m not afraid of anything.”

“You can deny all you want, Kitty, but you and your feelings have a lot more in common than you realize.”

Catra could already feel a headache coming. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”

“Feelings are wild things that can’t be controlled, just like you. You’ll feel what you have to feel.”

“You sound like a fortune cookie,” Catra deadpanned.

Scorpia laughed, not letting Catra’s words affect her. “You’ll see, eventually.”

Catra sighed, deciding it was pointless to argue with Scorpia. She got up, muttering “I’ll see if Lonnie needs help” before leaving. But even as she served drinks to customers and stopped at least three different bar fights from happening, her mind remained only on Scorpia’s words and how much truth there was to them.

 _You’ll feel what you have to feel_.

She couldn’t decide if she had a sinking feeling in her stomach or butterflies.

 

* * *

 

“Who’s ready to hit the road?!” Bow practically yelled, making Catra flinch, all of them standing in front of the girls’ building. “We got snacks, playlists made specifically for this trip, and the best driver-slash-entertainer ever, which is, of course, me.”

“I’m pretty sure you’re the only person in that category, Bow,” Adora said with amusement.

“So...” Catra glanced warily between the car and the boy, who had a face-splitting grin on. She honestly didn’t know how someone could constantly be in such a good mood. “How long is this road trip again?”

“Well...” Bow scratched his head as he thought, “since _someone_ wanted to leave late-” at that, he gave a pointed look at Glimmer, who was currently leaning against the car, “we’ll have to stop somewhere to sleep tonight, and we should arrive tomorrow before lunch.”

Glimmer rolled her eyes at Bow’s statement, simply answering with “I told you I’m not getting up early on my spring break.”

Catra paled a bit. “That’s... a long time.”

Adora playfully pushed Catra with her shoulder, offering her a gentle smile. “Come on, it will be fun.”

“Yeah!” Bow agreed. “We promise you’ll have a great time!”

Catra took a deep breath, letting herself relax and allowing her trademark smirk to appear. “Alright, let’s do this.”

Bow beamed, opening the car’s trunk and motioning for the girls to hand him their bags. Adora ignored him, grabbing both hers and Catra’s bags and putting them in the trunk, closing it and smiling proudly after.

Catra’s smirk widened, “God, you’re such a jock.”

Glimmer just rolled her eyes affectionately at them. “Come on, you two, let’s get in the car before Bow starts giving his speech about road safety and how we shouldn’t be out on the road until late.”

“But it’s true, Glimmer!” Bow pouted, “at least forty percent of car accidents happen at night-“

“Everyone in the car, now!”

And just like that, Bow was left alone in front of the building. He sighed, muttering dejectedly about how road safety was important, and got in the car as well.

“Okay, okay. No speeches.” He said, checking one more time if his seat and the rear view mirror were properly positioned. “Let’s hit the road!”

Everyone cheered.

“But first, seatbelts on.”

Yeah, Bow conceded, he probably deserved the amount of groans he received in response.

 

* * *

 

Glimmer was riding shotgun and in charge of the trip’s soundtrack, playing the playlist Bow had made, with the AUX cord connected to her phone. Right now, some folk song was playing as they drove through an open road, the sun high on the sky.

Catra was watching the landscape, Adora right beside her (despite having enough room for them to be apart), and feeling, surprisingly, content – which was definitely not on her list of feelings she expected to feel on this trip. Not that it was a really long list to begin with. It actually contained only one item: annoyance.  

But right now, watching Adora move her head with the music, Glimmer sing along to it and Bow tap his fingers on the wheel to the rhythm – while still firmly holding onto it, of course - she felt happy. She even began to move along with Adora.

The chorus of the song came on and Adora started singing too, blue eyes locked onto hers as she sang the words “home is wherever I’m with you,” a goofy smile on her lips.

Catra felt her heart skip a beat, heard Scorpia’s words ringing in her head.

_You’ll feel what you have to feel._

She leaned in and kissed Adora, hard, with Bow and Glimmer cheering on the background even as they pulled apart, her smile a copy of Adora’s.

The blonde whispered “what was that for?”

In response, Catra only gave her a chaste kiss and intertwined their fingers, her smile remaining on her face even as she turned back to face the window, Adora’s head now resting on her shoulder.

Bow and Glimmer grinned, the two of them sharing a look. Glimmer made a whipping motion with her hand, making the boy snort. Then, they turned their attention back to the playlist, starting a dramatic duet when “Total Eclipse of the Heart” came on.

 

A couple of hours passed until Bow announced he had to stop for gas, and they could go and stretch their legs a bit at the convenience store while he filled the tank. Which was what they were doing right now.

Adora noticed Catra’s gaze lingering on a part of the store that contained different alcoholic beverages, and then watched with mild amusement as she turned to Glimmer, both sporting equally impish grins.

_They bond over the worst things._

She cleared her throat, causing them to startle a bit as they turned to face her, looking like children who had been caught doing something wrong. She had to try really hard to keep her expression serious. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

The two of them nodded reluctantly, and Catra cast one last longing look at a bottle of vodka. “We’ll meet again, my love.”

Adora snorted, holding her hand and walking to a section that sold candies. They had run out of twizzlers an hour ago, so she grabbed a few packages and moved to the counter to pay. Glimmer didn’t follow, choosing to linger around the candies’ section a little longer.

Once they got to the counter, Adora handed the cashier the twizzlers along with some money to pay for them. She turned to Catra, watching her for a bit with a smile on her face.

Catra noticed her staring, facing her with a smirk. “Whatcha’ doing, weirdo?”

Adora chuckled. “Admiring,” that earned her a fond eye roll. “What are you thinking of the trip so far?”

She shrugged nonchalantly, attempting to play it cool. “Could’ve been worse.”

“Come on,” Adora said playfully, “what are you _really_ thinking?”

Catra’s smirk morphed into a grin. “Alright, alright. I’m having a really great time, Adora,” she paused, squeezing the hand she was holding, “thanks for inviting me.”

Adora’s smile was so bright Catra was sure it could replace the sun. “Anytime.”

The cashier handed them a bag with their candies, a soft smile on his face as he did so. “You two are girlfriends?”

Adora seemed uncertain of what to answer, glancing between the cashier and Catra, so the other girl decided to take the lead.

“Yeah,” Catra said, making Adora’s eyes widen, “we are.”

“You’re a cute couple,” he said with a chuckle, waving them goodbye. “Have a safe trip!”

“Thanks,” Catra said as she walked out of the store, practically dragging Adora with her since the girl’s brain apparently had short-circuited. Once they were outside, she snapped her fingers in front of the blonde’s face, amusement dotting her features. “Hey, Adora, you there?”

Adora’s mind finally seemed to start working again. “You called me your girlfriend,” she said slowly, as if she were still processing the words.

Catra nodded, “I did.”

“You called me your girlfriend.” Her smile, somehow, got even brighter than before.

“Stop smiling like that, you’ll blind me.”

Adora suddenly lifted her off the floor, spinning them around as she said, much louder this time, “You called me your girlfriend!”

Catra laughed, “Adora, stop, we’re not in a romantic comedy.”

The blonde put her down and kissed her, and that stupidly bright smile was still there when they pulled apart. “I think I know the answer to this, but-“ Catra started, feeling her own smile grow as well, “is that alright with you? Us being girlfriends?”

Adora laughed, kissing Catra’s cheek and hugging her tightly. “It’s more than alright.”

“Okay, okay, but let me breathe or our relationship will have a very tragic ending.”

Adora loosened her grip a bit, but still held her close.

Just then, Glimmer exited the store. “Y’all ready to go back to the car?”

“Hey, Glimmer, guess what,” Adora said.

“Huh?” The pink haired girl said in confusion.

“Catra is my girlfriend!”

Glimmer laughed, “Everyone knew that except you, dork.” Then, her gaze softened, and she hugged the two of them. “But still, I’m happy for you!”

Bow appeared seemingly out of nowhere, gasping dramatically. “You guys are having a group hug without me?” He asked with horror.  

“Bow, Catra is my girlfriend!”

That seemed like enough explanation for the boy to join the hug as well, saying “congratulations!” as the four of them held each other tightly. Or, more accurately, three of them held each other tightly and Catra squirmed while yelling for help.

Still, she didn’t immediately murder them when they let go, and Adora was sure she could see the tiniest hint of a smile on her face as they walked back to the car, even as she glared at them and grumbled about how she had almost suffocated to death.

 

* * *

 

Sometime after they had left the gas station, Glimmer had the brilliant idea – in her opinion; Catra disagreed profusely – to start recording them. “Come on, guys, it’ll be fun to watch this later! Catra, give me a smile!”  

Catra gave her the finger.

Glimmer moved the camera away from her. “Hey! This is supposed to be family friendly!”

Catra smirked, “then don’t point this thing at me.”

Glimmer scowled but did as she was told, filming Bow, Adora and the landscape instead. Once, without Catra noticing, she even managed to film her tickling Adora after the blonde had said something to tease her, so she counted that as a small victory.

The sun had begun to set, meaning they had been on the road for at least five hours now.

“Guys, I think we should stop soon. I’m getting tired,” Bow said, yawning shortly after.

“I’ll keep an eye out for a motel that doesn’t look like it came out of a horror movie,” Glimmer told him, turning her attention to the window.

 

It didn’t take long for them to find a relatively okay looking motel – meaning it was well lit, had at least a few cars parked in front of it and probably had only one cockroach per room. Glimmer doubted they could find anything better considering how far away from the city they were, and everyone begrudgingly agreed.  

Bow parked the car and they all climbed out, stretching a bit before moving to the trunk and getting their bags, walking together to the motel’s entrance.

Glimmer, apparently for no reason, glanced between Catra and Adora, letting out a snort.

Catra looked at her suspiciously. “What?”

“Nothing. It’s just- you two ever noticed your life is like a fanfic?”

Adora tilted her head slightly to the side in confusion, “what do you mean?”

“The mutual pining with neither of you noticing, the gay panic. You two are roommates, for God’s sake!”

Catra scoffed. “This is ridiculous.”

Glimmer held her hands up in surrender, but the smug grin never left her face. “Fine, believe what you want.”

Adora whispered to her, “you do kind of have a point.”

Apparently, she wasn’t quiet enough, since Catra heard her and let out a groan. “Even you, Adora?”

She only got a shrug in response.

They entered the motel, walking to the front desk with Bow leading them. He gave the receptionist a friendly smile, pulling out his wallet to get his ID and cash to pay for the rooms. “Hi, we’d like two rooms, please.”

The woman nodded, typing something on the computer. “Oh, it seems we have just one room available with two single beds. Do you mind if the other one has only one double bed?”

Bow tried to suppress his smile, “Not at all.”

Glimmer, on the other hand, burst out laughing. “And there was only ONE bed!”

 

* * *

 

After the four of them left their bags in their rooms, they all went to a nearby diner to grab a quick dinner before turning in for the night.

After sharing a pizza and returning to the motel, Bow and Glimmer said good night to the girls, with the latter adding a “have fun” while wiggling her eyebrows,  before Bow pulled her into the room and closed the door.

The couple said their good nights to them as well and walked into their own room, with Adora plopping face down on the bed.

“I’m exhausted,” the blonde said, voice muffled against the mattress. When she got no response, she turned around and sat up to face her girlfriend, only to find Catra already looking at her.

There, in that motel room, staring at the most beautiful woman in the world, Catra realized how lucky she was. It was weird, how drawn she had been to Adora, how right everything felt with her, as if they had known each other their entire lives. She felt her chest tighten with something she wouldn’t dare to name yet, felt her throat ache with words she had never spoken to anyone before.

The blonde stretched a hand out to her, “Come here.”

So she did.

She’d do anything Adora asked her to if she kept looking at her like she was made of gold, like she was the best person in the world, even after seeing all of her flaws.

She straddled Adora’s lap, leaving kisses on her forehead, her nose, until she finally reached her lips. Her hands found their way inside Adora’s shirt, raking her nails down her ribs, making the blonde shiver and sigh into Catra’s mouth. Their tongues touched and moved together as Catra’s hand went to the back of Adora’s neck, guiding her even further into the kiss.

She needed more. She needed Adora.

Her other hand returned to the blonde’s waist, fingertips leaving goosebumps on their way up, until they reached the curve of Adora’s breast. The blonde pulled away, breathless, and Catra immediately moved to kiss across her jaw, then down her neck, leaving bites and soothing them with her tongue.

“Thought you wanted-“ A gasp when Catra’s teeth found her pulse point, “-to take things slow.”

Catra halted her actions, hands settling on the hem of Adora’s shirt, mismatched eyes focused on blue ones. “I don’t want that. I want you, Adora. The question is-” She moved closer, breath hot against Adora’s ear as she whispered, “-what do _you_ want?”

She heard Adora take a sharp intake of breath, felt hands covering her own and guide them up until they had removed the blonde’s shirt completely. “You,” Adora said, hands slowly unbuttoning Catra’s shirt, “all of you.”

After that, all of Catra’s self restraint flew out the window, and the rest of their clothes were gone in seconds.

Catra pushed Adora down on the bed, lying on top of her, thigh firmly pressed against the blonde’s center.  Her mouth returned to her neck, leaving a hot trail of kisses as it moved lower and lower.

“Catra-“ Adora moaned when Catra cupped her breast, thumb rubbing over her nipple, making her arch into the touch, “-let me touch you.”

Adora’s hands reached out to touch her, to feel her, but their movements were halted by Catra pinning them above her head with one of her hands. Catra’s forehead rested on hers for a brief moment and she felt, more than heard, the words “tonight’s only about you” whispered against her lips.

Then, Catra's lips began their descent again and her mouth soon took her hand’s place on Adora’s breast, sucking and licking until the girl underneath her was moaning and writhing, hips rolling against her thigh desperately trying to create more friction.

“Catra, I- Please-“ Adora whimpered when Catra made eye contact with her, choosing that exact moment to let her teeth graze her nipple and press her thigh even harder against her. Adora groaned, screwing her eyes shut, “Please-”

Suddenly, Catra stopped, making Adora gasp, immediately missing the feeling of Catra’s mouth on her, the pressure on her center. She forced her eyes open, only to be met with Catra’s smirking face, one of her hands still pinning hers to the bed, the other dangerously close to where she needed to be touched the most.

“Please what?”

Catra’s voice practically dripped with smugness.

Adora couldn’t decide whether it annoyed her or turned her on.

A single digit pressed against her, with enough pressure to make her moan but not nearly enough as she needed. Catra repeated her question, “Please what?”

“ _Please fuck me_ ,” Adora begged breathlessly.

Catra’s smirk only grew, “As you wish.” Her hand finally let go of Adora’s, moving back to cup her breast just as she felt two fingers easily enter her. Catra moved slowly at first, and just when Adora began to think she wasn’t done teasing, her fingers gained speed, curling inside her, bringing her closer to the edge with every second passed.

She felt the pressure in her stomach begin to grow. _She was so close._

When she felt Catra’s thumb rub against her and her fingers curl, hitting _just_ the right spot, her back arched off the bed, her entire body tensing and going still as her vision turned white with pleasure, a loud moan leaving her mouth only to be silenced by Catra’s own.

Catra’s fingers slowed down, making sure to let Adora ride it all out, even as her body trembled with aftershocks. When the blonde pulled away from the kiss, breathing heavily with pupils blown wide and cheeks flushed, she finally withdrew her fingers, and Adora let out a tiny whimper at the feeling.

Catra brought the fingers to her mouth and licked them clean, making Adora’s cheeks turn an even darker color of red as she watched, wide eyed. Catra chuckled at her, kissing her again, but in a much more tender manner this time.

“You’re amazing,” Adora whispered, afraid that if she spoke louder, she’d break whatever spell had fallen over them that made them feel as if they were the only people in the world.

“Only when I’m with you,” Catra pecked her lips one final time, lying down beside her on the bed. Adora moved closer, resting her head on Catra’s chest and hearing her heart beat, already feeling it lulling her to sleep.

“I feel bad for not doing anything for you,” she mumbled sleepily, even though she had only done as Catra had requested.

Catra chuckled, planting a soft kiss on her head. “We have all the time in the world, remember?”

It was to those words, and to the sound of Catra’s heart beat, that she fell into the most peaceful slumber she had in a long time.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i died at least three times while writing this.  
> i'm so sorry this took so long to come out but it's finally here!!!!!  
> hope you guys enjoy it, and i promise i'm not giving up on this story,  
> so please stick with me even if updates take a little longer. <3  
> let me know what you thought of this chapter on the comments. love y'all, and thanks so much for reading


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